The Crime Lord and I
by Brii-sama
Summary: Crime boss Hiei is considering never lending to the middle-class again; they don't pay when they should. But at least he got a pretty redhead out of the deal. However, is his new "decoration" a little too much for him to handle?  HieiXKurama, M for safe.
1. Chapter 1: Two Caged Birds

Chapter One

The desire to own a flamethrower had never been higher in Hiei's life. Sure, he'd wished for one a couple of times before, naturally along with unlimited ammo for the thing to burn all of his enemies alive and then sit back and watch with satisfaction as they ran around screaming in agony before collapsing, but now the desire was almost overwhelming. Largely because the _fucking tree right the fuck outside his window_ had become the city for **birds**. **Mating birds**. That sang, all damn day long. Hacking the tree down would take too long, and he just didn't have the patience for that kind of grueling physical labor. No, a flamethrower would be much quicker, not to mention much more satisfying. Get all the little tweeting fuckers at once. Bwa ha ha ha.

_ But I really like that tree..._

Hm. New plan. ...Okay scratch that, time to think of a new plan, because he didn't exactly have one (or a basis for one) to fall back on. It wasn't like he spent much of his time thinking about birds. Though with how this was turning out, he might have to dedicate some of his brain power to it until something more interesting came along.

A bright red, most likely testosterone swollen male flitted dangerously close to his window and let out a piercing note that made the boss cringe. Cracking an eye open, he growled and lunged forward to try and grab it. Its next note was strangled with surprise at the accurate hand that clenched around it. Not tight enough to kill, but enough to certainly panic the poor thing just trying to get it on with one of the many viable females.

The satisfaction at having caught the bird wasn't noticeable on his face as he pulled it close to look at it. It was small, and bright red, with darker wings and a belly the color of glowing embers. It was rather pretty.

Looking at Hiei, most wouldn't expect him to be one to care about beauty, but actually he cared about it a lot. He liked beautiful things. He liked valuable things. He liked beautiful things that were valuable. And he liked surrounding himself with beautiful things that were valuable. This bird was beautiful, but not really necessary in any way, shape, or form. It was just beautiful.

But he'd kept things for less. So, bird in hand, he started looking around for something to hold it temporarily. He had a few boxes lying around that he could stuff it in, but it wouldn't be a permanent solution. Still, he'd rather not keep it in his hand all day while looking around for a bird cage, which he was sure he didn't have in the house somewhere. What did he need with a random bird cage, anyway? Unless someone had tried to pay him with it...

Speaking of which.

"Hiei-sama." The voice was coming from outside his door, loud enough to be heard.

"Enter," he called, flipping open various chests and boxes, looking for one he could stash the bird in that he didn't mind emptying (or potentially getting bird crap on). The door opened and Toguro took a step in before stopping respectively.

"Minamino is behind on his payments again." Why didn't that surprise him?

_This is why I shouldn't lend so much money to middle-class suits. They think nothing can bother them as long as their home life and job is perfect, and they never feel like they have to pay me back._

"Hn." He found a suitable box and emptied out the miscellaneous shiny things onto his desk (noticing a few he hadn't seen in a while and making the mental note of going back through them), carefully replacing them with the bird and then trapping it by closing the top.

"I'll pay him a visit myself." For some reason, people were more afraid of him than of the lackeys he sent. Weird, because he had some pretty scary lackeys

_Ought to look into that_. He handed the box to Toguro.

"Give this to Puu, tell him to get a bird cage for it." Toguro had learned long ago not to ask. It was usually just better in the long run.

"Any particular design?"

"Gold. Its red, so it will look better in a gold cage."

_Just...don't ask_, Toguro reminded himself. He could already guess because of the nervous cheeping coming from the box.

"Right." Holding the box gently, the giant of a man stepped back out and headed towards the kitchen, where Puu tended to spend his free time – when he wasn't running errands for Hiei. There wasn't much for Hiei to do; he was already dressed, collecting (unnecessary but habitual) weapons took less than five minutes, and his jacket and shoes were at the front of the house. He would get them when he left. So, he grabbed his two trusted weapons that always came with him; the more out of date, but more satisfying katana, and his more convenient pistol, which was hidden in the waistband of his pants, pressed against his lower back.

Honestly? The chances of him needing them were right around zero, with a margin of error of ten. On the negative side of things. But it was always, _always_ better to be prepared for anything.

"Hey boss."

_Which reminds me to close my door more often so that random idiots can't wander in whenever they please._

"What." Shishiwakamaru took that as an invitation and stepped further into the room, arms crossed over his chest loosely.

"What do you intend to do about Minamino?"

"I should do something different than normal?"

"Give him a real reason to pay? Just the 'pay or we'll break your arms' doesn't seem to work on these guys."

_Because they're idiots_ was a shared sentiment.

"It works if you break the right arms. Take away his home or work, and he'll pay up." Shishiwakamaru tended to work more on the lower end of the collection agency spectrum. Someone as formal as him had much more of an impact on street thugs in comparison to just one of their kind.

"Sure, but we seem to get this problem a lot."

"Because they're all like that." He straightened, sword held in his hand and pistol secured against his back, and headed out. "You can come along if you don't have anything else to do."

"I suppose. It's been quiet lately." Quiet? ...Yeah, sure, you could call it that. Largely quiet because there weren't a lot of people out there willing to challenge Hiei's reign. Hiei didn't say anything else, heading down the hall with Shishi trailing after him. Toguro reappeared sans the boxed bird.

"I've gathered up some of the others to come with us." This is why Hiei liked having Toguro around; he was loyal, good in a pinch, a good man in a fight, and efficient. He didn't waste time when there was something to be done.

"Good. Let's go." The rest of the group accumulated around them in the time it took them to get to the front door. It was almost comical, having a collection of large, fairly buff fighters with a nasty look to each of them following after someone as short as Hiei. He made up for it with the obvious muscles that wrapped around his build.

"Toguro, where are we headed," he asked, tone bored. It was fake though. He actually enjoyed this; going to the home of some suit and tearing their sense of safety and security to shreds. It gave him a deep sense of satisfaction. He half listened as some street name of a no doubt nice suburb was rumbled off (Toguro didn't really 'rattle' anything) as he slid into the car, sword held in front of him.

"How far is it."

"Not long. Should only be fifteen minutes." Mm. Car ride. Leaning back, he decided on a nap, musing over how the little red bird would look in its new cage. Around him, some of the men who had come along spoke to each other in low voices. Apparently some were just coming because they liked seeing Hiei screw with the middle-class as much as he liked screwing with them. It made him smirk.

Most of his guys (and him) had come from fairly low class, desperate situations. With Hiei's help, they'd clawed their way up to get a standing in the world of crime and had held it; and _that_ had been, and was, the real challenge.

Of course, what came along with the low class thing was one, a hatred (or at least extreme dislike) of the middle-class people with happy nice families and two, a deep loathing, but also a reluctant respect for someone just as cold-blooded and territorial about holding their place in life.

Hiei tried not to smirk too much at the thought of destroying the perfect family his "client" had no doubt created. Maybe he would have a daughter that they could terrorize some. Hopefully not a son; sons were idiots who tried to save the day, but girls were scared easily and traumatizing them was child's play. Of course now Hiei was finding it increasingly hard not to grin widely at the thought of having a little fun.

"Well that's a pretty terrifying face," Shishi commented. Hiei ignored him calmly, still pretending to be asleep. Toguro was kind enough to reply for him.

"He's having a good dream. Let him be."

"Good dream or not, it doesn't make his face less terrifying. Hey which is worse, his angry face, or this one?" Hiei barely managed not to snort at this, but it was an interesting question. Sadly, Toguro gave the generic answer of "shut up", so he didn't get to hear what his right hand thought.

"We're here." Opening his eyes, Hiei took the time to peer out of the car window. Yep; perfect little suburb on Happy Home Drive. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't get his face back to normal. The house they were in front of was a perfect, two-story home that neatly matched all the other houses down the near-empty street. The only difference was the garden in front. Sure, the other houses had pretty gardens, but this one just seemed to make all of them pale. It was gorgeous, with painstakingly cared for flowers arranged in such an aesthetically pleasing way. It made looking at the house a pleasant experience, and would fill most passerby's with an uplifted, happy feeling.

Hiei liked it all the more because he could imagine the dutiful wife (or daughter) that tended to the plants. He would break her, and enjoy it.

"Let's go." He stepped out, resting his sword against his shoulder as they climbed out. Toguro had gathered a small group, so there was only seven of them, including Hiei, Toguro and Shishi. Two of the men slunk away to the back door to keep them from sneaking out, and one stayed behind in the car. It was Hiei, Toguro, Shishi and Rando that walked up to the door. Toguro reached up and firmly (and loudly) knocked on the door. Hiei hummed to himself in his head, pleasantly waiting for the moment about to come.

"I'll get it hon, don't worry," a man from inside called; Minamino. A second or two later, the door opened. He wasn't an ugly man, just average, with big glasses. Hiei vaguely recalled he had needed the money for his new wife's medical bills.

The gang leader really, really didn't care. "Yo," he greeted calmly. He shifted out of the way and let Toguro kick him back inside by driving his foot into his stomach. His body hit the nice wooden floor of the hallway, rattling a small nightstand and causing a vase to smash to the floor. There was a cry from somewhere inside the house as Hiei stepped in, moving over Minamino quickly to let his comrades in behind him. Shishi closed and locked the door, leaning back against it.

"Kazuya!" Well, there was the wife. Hiei could see her through the hall to the kitchen where she was pressed back against the counter, horrified and completely unable to come up with what she should do. Smirking, Hiei stepped on Minamino's hand, heading for the kitchen.

"Your wife? Ironic. I'm pretty sure you borrowed money to save her. Now it's what's getting her in the most trouble-" He'd gotten right in front of the stairs when he saw a red blur to his right, out of the corner of his eye. He had just started to turn his head when something _hard_ collided with the side of his head, knocking him sideways into the wall and smashing the other side of his head into a picture frame. He could hear someone run by him from the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hiei-sama!" He shook it off quickly, snarling and trying to drive himself back into a standing position.

_What the fuck?_ Looking up, he felt himself freeze for a second. The one who had hit him was now standing protectively in front of the woman with eyes like green ice. Despite having just been attacked by him (her?), Hiei couldn't deny that they were absolutely beautiful. Long, vibrant red hair that was obviously well taken care of, and huge emerald green eyes (currently narrowed dangerously) set in a perfectly sculpted face covered in pale skin. Even with those features drawn into a mixed look of hate, fear, and defiance, they were beautiful.

_He-llo_. He was smirking again as he wiped the trickle of blood off the side of his face.

"H-hey, boss, you all right?", Shishi asked nervously. Toguro didn't seem the slightest bit worried and was picking up the crumpled form of Kazuya off the ground. Hiei watched the redhead's eyes flicker to their father (step-father, more than likely) and then back to Hiei, turning even colder if that was possible. Their stance changed, as if they were trying to make themselves bigger so as to better protect the woman cowering by the counters.

_Hm...pretty, like a girl, but now that I think about it, it could be a boy...certainly acts more like one; girls aren't always this defiant._ He still hadn't answered Shishi and shrugged it off.

"Just caught off guard," he smoothed over. The back door opened and the two guys stationed there peeked in, making the pretty redhead tense up even more.

"Everything all right boss?", one of them called.

"Fine." He watched green eyes dart back and forth between the door, the men, Hiei, and Kazuya, frantically trying to think of a plan.

_Oh ho, are you going to lash out or shut down? What's your plan?_

"Toguro, bring that trash to the living room, so we can explain the purpose of our visit. Rando, get those two. Shishi, keep an eye on the door." Toguro somehow managed to slide past him in the small space and dragged Kazuya into the living room with him. Rando, smirking, moved past towards the redhead and (more than likely) his mother. The boy tensed up, reaching back as if searching for something. Hiei knew where this was going and just decided to watch for now. He was right on target as a kitchen blade flashed out and slashed across Rando's chest.

"Gaaah! Fuck, you little-!" He grabbed at the other's wrist, but it seemed he wasn't willing to give up so easily; he wrenched his arm away from Rando's grip and drove the (un/fortunately?) small blade into his chest. The two men from the back door moved forward now as Rando staggered back.

"Stop," Hiei called lazily as the redhead reached for another knife. He pulled the gun from the waistband of his pants and pointed it at the woman over the boy's shoulder. He practically jumped away from the counter to get in front of her.

_Good boy. Protect your mother._

"You really think I won't shoot her once you're down on the ground from a hole in the head? Be good and take your mother into the living room." The cold eyes were now burning. He could see the other's jaw clench as he slowly straightened, reaching back.

"Mother," he asked quietly, taking her hand. He didn't let her get much in front of him as he moved around Rando cautiously and walked stiffly past Hiei.

"For future reference," Hiei asked calmly. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

"I'm a boy," he said tensely, venom dripping off his words.

"Mazeltov," Hiei congratulated with a smirk. He found he liked pushing the boy's buttons. He followed them long enough with his eyes to see the teen help his mother into a seat on the edge of the sofa and then kneel next to her on the ground before turning back to his men. Rando was sitting down, just kind of looking at the knife in his chest. He looked okay otherwise; nothing major had been hit.

"Oi, one of you take Rando back to the car and bandage him up. Whoever doesn't go, lock the back door and keep watch." They nodded, picking up the wounded and helping him outside. That taken care of, Hiei turned back to the living room. With Toguro looming in the corner, it made the atmosphere rather tense. Hiei liked it. He plopped himself down in the cushiest chair there and crossed his legs over each other.

"Now then," he started cheerfully, keeping his eyes on the boy. "I think everyone would like an explanation. Kazuya here-" he indicated the man with his sword "-borrowed money to pay for his dearly beloved wife's medical bills, which seem to be putting quite a lot of you in debt, I guess. I don't really care about reasons people have for borrowing money-"

"We're not in debt." It took Hiei a second to realize the boy had cut him off, even though he'd been looking straight at him.

"Scuse me?" The green eyes didn't waver from his own; a rare skill.

"She was very sick for a while, and she needed to go to the hospital. We were struggling, but we were never in debt." He said this very calmly, but each word felt like a dagger...directed at his step-father. The woman's hand found her son's shoulder and squeezed it. Hiei blinked slowly at him.

"Sorry, what was your name again?", he asked after a moment. The redhead's jaw clenched again and his eyes burned.

"Shuuichi." Every syllable of _that_ was a dagger aimed at Hiei.

"That's dull. Don't you have a nickname your friends use for you?"

"Yes, I do." He was still calm, even with anger bleeding out from every word. He didn't continue speaking, though Hiei gave him every chance to. After waiting long enough, Hiei grew impatient.

"Well? What is it?"

"It's a name only my _friends_ call me, so there would be no point in telling you." Dagger words again. Hiei brushed them off mentally, not too bothered, but they did chill him. If he were less of a person, he would have been encroaching on terrified after just a few minutes of this treatment.

The jab about the nickname made his eyebrow twitch just a little.

"All right then, how about I start guessing? And every time I get it wrong, I'll cut off something of your mother's. Her hair, a finger, a nose, maybe her eyes... Just so you know, I don't really have a vested interest in getting it right-"

"Kurama," the teen said quickly. "My nickname is Kurama." Hiei's smirk was back and he reclined in the chair comfortably. He liked how easily those cold eyes had switched to fear, if only for an instant.

"Better." 'Kurama' shot him such a nasty look it was as if he was trying to set Hiei on fire, or make acid burst out over his skin.

_Good luck with that, kid_.

"Now, as I was saying. For whatever reason, your stepfather assumed you were in debt and came begging me for a loan. He asked for quite the hefty sum, and it seems everything worked out hunky-dory for you all. But I'm still missing my money. And since Kazuya here hasn't been following the nice convenient payment plan I laid out for him, I've come to make sure I get it."

"How much does he...do...we, owe?", the woman asked tensely, the hand on her son squeezing a bit more. Hiei tried not to look like he was enjoying this _too_ much, though admittedly he was. He loved it when the idiot who borrowed money and wasn't paying it back hadn't told his family; he got to see the strain of trying to deal with it after having just learned what was going on.

"Ten million yen." Kurama finally dropped his look of utter contempt for one of shock and disbelief.

"What?", he asked in a choked whisper. Hiei smirked more.

"Ten. Million. Yen," he repeated slower. "And now, because I had to come down here, it has interest." The woman was trembling a little.

"But...my medical bills...they were expensive, but never..."

"Ask your husband about it. Later," he added as she opened her mouth. "I don't care how you fight it out. What I care about is how you're going to pay me back. Ten million is a lot, and with interest, it's even worse." There was a tense silence again, and Hiei smirked.

"Well, since you don't seem to have any ideas, I guess I'll decide. Toguro, grab Kurama for me." The effect was instantaneous.

"No!", his mother cried out, leaping up and trying to get between Kurama and the huge man.

"Wait, you can't do that!" That would be Kazuya. And what was the pretty redhead doing?

"Mother no!" He tried to pull her away before Toguro could get a hold of her. This put him within arm's reach of the monster man himself, who went the direct route and grabbed a fistful of red hair.

"Ahhh!" He was dragged away from his mother, yanked up until he was almost on his tip-toes.

_A momma's boy even when _he's_ the one in danger._ Standing, Hiei calmly slid his sword out of it's sheath and pointed it at Kazuya.

"I think you and your wife should sit down." Shishi poked his head in.

"Everything under control?", he asked, not really bothered by the scene.

"An extra pair of hands couldn't hurt." Shishi nodded, stepping in and drawing his own blade, this one concealed. He and Hiei bullied the couple into sitting on the couch as their son winced in pain, hair still held firmly by Toguro. He was trying to relieve the pain some by gripping Toguro's hand and pulling himself up on it, putting the strain on his arms instead of his scalp. The tips of his feet brushed the ground, unable to find purchase. It was satisfying to watch him dangle there.

"Now then," he said calmly. Hiei came to stand by Toguro while Shishi lingered by the couch. "Ten million, with interest, is quite a lot of money to pay. Your son is worth two million to me, which leaves you only eight million left to pay, not including the interest. And since he's with me, you don't have to worry about spending money on him, which means you can pay me off faster. I'm actually being quite generous." The woman was almost in tears, which only furthered Hiei's delight. He let his eyes slide to his left to watch the red-haired beauty struggle and squirm in Toguro's grip.

"Have I forgotten anything?"

"How much the interest actually is?", Shishi suggested.

"Hm? Oh, yes. .05% more every month you don't pay, and didn't pay. That's five hundred thousand a month, and you haven't paid me in six months. Can anyone tell me how much is five hundred thousand times six?" His eyes moved sideways again.

"Toguro, let him answer." Toguro let Kurama down enough that he could think straight, but didn't release him fully. Kurama winced, glaring back at him and answering tensely.

"Three million."

"Smart boy." There was nothing but disgust in his eyes. Toguro tightened his grip again, lifting him back up. "It seems you actually owe eleven million, taking him into account. It shouldn't take you too long to pay it back. And..." He advanced on Kazuya, reaching out and ripping his wife away from his arms. Shishi's blade against his throat kept him pinned so easily.

"If you _don't_ pay..." He dragged the tip of his blade up the woman's side. She whimpered, but didn't struggle.

"No! Mother!" Kurama struggled as much as he could in his position, even trying to kick back at Toguro. Hiei smirked, throwing her forward at his feet.

"I won't be as nice as I'm being to your son. I've no need for a weak and useless woman. Though perhaps someone else does. Maybe I'll take her and sell her to whoever wants a submissive, crying woman in bed."

"_Don't! You! Dare!_" Hiei cast a casual glance at Kurama, and had to do a double-take. The boy had apparently started trying to claw at Toguro's hand. And had been succeeding, but Toguro was very good at not reacting to pain, despite the blood now dripping down his hand. Kurama was oblivious to it too, even as it started to trickle down his face.

"Uh...Toguro?", Shishi asked, staring at the two as well. He said nothing, as stoic as always. Since Toguro wasn't bothered, Hiei decided not to be bothered either.

"Well then? What are you going to do to compensate me?", he asked calmly, coming over to stand in front of the redhead. "Right now you're only making it worse by tearing up my subordinates hand." The ice was back in those green eyes and he stopped clawing at Toguro's hand. He focused instead on glaring at Hiei with all the hate he could muster up. Which was a lot, actually. Hiei smirked.

"So you can be obedient. Answer me then." Toguro let him back onto the ground, not releasing his hair still.

"Please don't hurt my son," the woman whimpered. Hiei glanced back to see her bowing as deeply as she could. "Please, I'll do anything." Smirking, the mob boss motioned to her.

"Your mother is quite willing to do whatever I want her to. Are you just going to let her?" The look Kurama gave Hiei at that point could have melted someone into the floor and send their soul directly to Hell.

"Tell your dog to let me go," he said, voice as icy cold as his eyes. Hiei felt slightly chilled by the look, but still managed to smirk and nod to Toguro. The vibrant red hair that had been held up by a huge hand was released and fell around his shoulders like so much silk. Kurama's eyes brushed past him to his mother as he walked forward and knelt down beside her, leaning in to whisper something to her. She shook her head furiously, hands gripping his arms.

"No, you can't! I'm not going to let you pay for something like this with your life!" Hiei slid around, trying to see the redhead's face. What he saw made a stab of something carve right through him: the icy look had melted into a gentle, reassuring smile that made Kurama's features just light up.

"I'll be fine," he promised. "I'll work to pay back how much I'm worth. If we just keep up with the payments, there won't be any more interest added on. As long as it stays as a fixed price, we can pay it back. Call Yusuke and Kuwabara. I hate to borrow money from them, but I think they'll understand, and I'll pay them back." Swallowing, the woman nodded, seeming to calm in the face of her son's cool head and soothing smile and voice. Kurama leaned forward, hugging her tightly before standing up, helping her up as well. He set her back on the couch before turning to Hiei. He went from calm back to icy in a split second.

"Are we leaving?" Hiei tried to adjust as rapidly as Kurama switched and smirked.

"You are smart." He motioned to Shishi. "Tell the others we're going. And you," he pointed his sword at Kazuya and his wife, "I don't think I need to tell you not to call the cops. You should understand that all on your own." He sheathed his sword, motioning to Toguro and Kurama.

"Let's go, both of you." Toguro put a hand on Kurama's shoulder, but he pulled away from it immediately.

"Am I allowed to bring some of my things along?" For a few moments, Hiei debated saying no. But they had room, and it would be good to at least try to make him happy.

"Fine. I suppose it will take a few days for me to get clothes for you, so you can go get some to wear in the meantime. Just try not to take too long." He watched the redhead pause, eyes shifting over to where his mother was sitting quietly on the couch, looking very small.

"May I take my mother upstairs to lie down? Stress is very bad for her and I don't want her to exert herself." The message was fairly clear; _I don't trust you enough to leave my mother alone with you_. Interesting how his step-father was no longer part of that, if he ever had been before. Hiei didn't even really feel insulted. Actually, he was pleased with that. Polite dialect, a tone fighting to be just as polite and stifle burning hate, and a very clever way to maneuver his mother into a safer situation, under his control. And now Hiei was caught. Did he reward the cleverness and let him take his mother, or did he crush this defiant attempt at control and keep her here?

_Decisions, decisions._

Of course, if he rewarded the cleverness, he could kill two birds with one stone and try to make him happy again.

"Go ahead." The other's shoulders loosened so little it was barely noticeable. He was quick to take up on the kindness and was beside his mother in a moment. There was that gentleness again, and Hiei watched with hawk-like eyes, eating it up. He watched Kurama put an arm around his mother, as if trying to shield her, and leading her out of the room towards the stairs. As they disappeared up to the second floor, Hiei was already trying to come up with ways to make Kurama look like that in the future.

"You sure he's not going to run?", Shishi asked skeptically, also watching the stairs.

"He won't," Hiei said confidently. "There's no way he can get his mother out with him, not in her state, so there's no way he'll run. He'll be back down soon." Sure enough, a little over five minutes later, he was back downstairs with a back-pack slung over his shoulder and his icy chill back in full force. It was wrapped around him like a shield.

"Is your mother taken care of?", Hiei asked without really caring about it.

"Yes."

"Good. Let's go," he called through the house to the guy guarding the back. Shishi had moved to the front door, unlocking it and holding it open for Hiei and his new "pet". Toguro had picked up that Kurama wouldn't run and didn't bother trying to restrain him.

"It'll be cramped in the car," he pointed out to Hiei.

"He can sit on the floor by me," Hiei answered calmly. He didn't risk glancing back, even though he really wanted to see the kid's reaction.

_Bet he's got a seriously pissed off look on his face._ As they quickly climbed into the car, Hiei got a chance to see it. It was more than pissed off; it was murderous. It would have been screaming 'I will kill you', but it was cold anger. It was more like saying it with utmost certainty instead of flying into a screaming rage to get it across.

It gave Hiei a sense of satisfaction as he slid in and leaned back in his seat, motioning for Kurama to squeeze in and sit on the floor in front of him. He showed no hint of reluctance, just hate, as he climbed in and sat with his knees folded under him, back to Hiei. This made both Hiei and Shishi happy; Shishi got to peer around and inspect his face rather blatantly close, and Hiei got to reach forward and snatch a lock of hair, rubbing it in between his fingers. It was as soft as it looked.

"Wow, he is pretty," Shishi complimented airily. "You sure he's really a guy?"

"You can check if you want," Hiei offered, still focused on the hair, now using both hands to inspect it. There were streaks of blood in it from Toguro (whom was currently impassively bandaging his hand) that would have to be washed out. But the untouched parts were silky and slid easily through his fingers, only catching a few times.

"Oh, can I?", he asked, smirking and reaching forward. He tugged at the collar of Kurama's shirt, trying to pull him closer. The redhead didn't budge. "So, do you want to show me?" He didn't say anything, just kept looking straight ahead. As Shishi moved to lean forward, he suddenly spoke up.

"Do I have a purpose in being owned by you?", he asked Hiei directly. He completely ignored Shishi, as if he didn't even exist. He treated everyone else in the van exactly the same. Despite having two guys on either side of him (one of them being Rando, who was glaring at Kurama with not even half the hate the redhead used in his glares), Hiei felt like they were sitting in the van alone.

"Yes, you do. You're my property."

"That's not a purpose; that's a status." Shishi was still tugging at his shirt, trying to get his attention, but now even Hiei was ignoring him.

"I'll figure out what to do with you soon enough. For now, you're merely a decoration." Kurama tried to jerk his hair out of Hiei's hand.

"Understood," he said curtly. Hiei grabbed his hair again, pulling back on it harshly.

"Which means you're to _behave_." Kurama's body was tense and Hiei pulled on his hair again. "Well? Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"Look at me and say it." Even from behind him Hiei could see the redhead's jaw clench. Then, slowly, he shifted to turn and look at Hiei. He had a reserved smile on his face, perfectly restrained and distant, like the one rich people used on people they hated. His eyes burned coldly though.

"I understand, Hiei-sama." Even his voice was calm and polite. Hiei smirked, sitting back and keeping a lock of hair captured in his fingers.

"Good." The smile was gone and Kurama turned back around, still ignoring everyone else. The ride back was silent, everyone edging away from them slightly. Hiei entertained himself by playing with Kurama's hair, loving the feel of it against his skin.

_I'll have to make sure he keeps good care of this,_ he noted mentally, smirk spreading over his lips. He reached forward and ran his fingers up the back of Kurama's neck to play with the tiny, soft hairs that collected in tight rings at the base of his skull. He brushed against the soft skin at the nape of his neck and something made him stop.

_Was that...?_ He brushed it again, this time applying more pressure and kneading softly. He felt the redhead tense up, but there was another reaction; a shiver, that started at his shoulders and rippled out. Once the shiver worked it's way out, the redhead hunched his shoulders somewhat and tried to pull away. Hiei grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him back as a grin nearly split his face in half.

_Well now. Looks like I found a way to make this more interesting._

End Chapter One

**A/N:** Yep. Sorry this took so long. After my announcement I had to deal with an eye ulcer, grandparents, adopting a stray off the street, and then a second ulcer in my other eye. But! I finally managed to get it out, with help from reading through **all** of the Yu Yu Hakusho manga (at long last!). So, here it is, and I'm starting on the second chapter right after I put this up, so you should be (hopefully) getting it soon. A bientot!


	2. Chapter 2: Payback

**mYtORnsaNDaLs:** I'm glad you're excited for the rewrite. :) I hope you enjoy it at least as much as my first attempt. And I promise to try to be better about posting chapters.

**Darkest-Wings:** Ask and (sometimes) I grant your wish! :D Thank you, and I'm glad you think so.

**HieiKurama forever: **Thanks, and sorry I left you questions in the last one ^^;;; I can say it is a house, specifically a really big, not really mansion-y house, and it is located kind of on the outskirts of Tokyo (yay for generic big city in Japan! :D ). I say kind of because it's a fairly quick drive to the city, hence why Kurama's house isn't too far away. And I doubt it will be the same or even close to the first one, because I've already started in an entirely different direction. I will, however, most likely be drawing on some elements from the last one. :)

**And a big thank you to everyone who favorited the story or added it to their alert: mYtORnsaNDaLs, snowpeachdrop, White Rose Fox, Dragon Starfire, JGgirl, dogylove, I'm Not Psychotic. I'm Gifted, and Sister-of-Shadows. Seriously though, the thanks and replies to reviews are mostly just for me because I like seeing peoples pen names and writing them out so that they sink in. :3 Thank you all for the love! *mwah!***

Chapter Two

"What? Don't approve of your new room?", Hiei asked, watching Kurama carefully. He was looking around the room with an unreadable expression. He didn't look too happy though (understandable), with a face that showed nothing even remotely happy. He picked up a small pretty bauble, seeming trapped by it for a moment as he turned it over gently in his fingers.

"May I ask something?" His voice was as cold as ever though. Hiei shrugged.

"Go ahead." A cold eye peeked out from behind the red curtain of hair and locked onto Hiei.

"Is it customary to give your 'property' an elaborate room full of valuable things." Hiei felt a grin starting to pull at his lips again. He refrained, keeping his face neutral.

"Not particularly." The bauble was placed down rather abruptly.

"This is your room," he guessed flatly. Hiei couldn't resist grinning at least a little.

"Bingo."

Upon arriving, Hiei had decided the best way to tame his new "decoration" was to keep him close at all times. This was partly strategy, and partly personal preference so he could learn how to manipulate the redhead and get more expressions out of him. Currently all he'd managed to get since they got home was either cool and emotionless or icy cold and angry, same as back at the house. He was hoping to get that quiet hate-filled politeness again, but alas. To no avail.

Kurama moved away from the shelf of trinkets, bringing his arms around himself as if to limit the chance of contact with another of Hiei's things. He crossed to the window, but didn't lean against the edge.

"Do you want to know where you'll be sleeping?", Hiei asked, trying to figure out how to goad the redhead. Maybe he could make him flustered...

"The floor," came the response. He sounded absolutely dead serious. Hiei snorted.

"I'm not going to put you somewhere I have to worry about stepping on you in the morning."

"Then I'll sleep in a corner, on the floor." Hiei's eye twitched.

"You'll be sleeping on the bed with me," he finally revealed, annoyed. When he didn't get a reaction, he continued. "And you'll be sleeping naked." _That_ got a reaction. Kurama's whole body jerked and he managed _not_ to wheel around fast enough to get whiplash, but it was close. His face was a mixture of anger, disbelief, and a small bit of horror. He managed to choke back whatever he was about to say though, forcibly controlling himself. Hiei grinned.

"Unless you come over here and ask me to let you wear something at night. Nicely." A whole range of emotions flipped through Kurama's eyes, but it only took a few seconds before he settled on something. It was that look of forced politeness again, but this time his eyes held a tint of humiliation over out-right hate. And he wasn't smiling. He collected himself, stiffly walking over to stand a foot from Hiei. For a moment he wavered, but then he decided what approach he wanted.

He knelt down, still looking up at Hiei. "Hiei-sama," he asked calmly. "May I please wear something to bed at night." Smirking, Hiei reached down and caught a lock of red hair again. He couldn't help it; he really liked it.

"Better. You're learning. You can wear something. But I'll choose it." The look of pure hate was back.

"Why am I not surprised." He pulled back and stood fluidly, heading back to the window. Hiei leaned back against the door again, rubbing his fingertips together as if he were still holding the strands of hair.

"That was fast," he snorted in regards to Kurama catching on to his personality.

"I know your type." The crime lord raised an eyebrow.

"I have a type?"

"Alpha male with sadistic tendencies. You like having control, especially over others. If anyone shows you defiance, you go out of your way to break them." That sounded about right, actually.

_So my decoration isn't a total idiot._ Granted, he knew that already, but now he was starting to get that he was smarter than he'd let on before.

"If you know all that, why show me defiance?"

"I've been defiant?", the redhead wondered aloud to himself. "I've been obedient, if a bit honest about my intense dislike of you. I've done everything you asked without putting up a fight-"

"You stabbed one of my men in the chest with a kitchen knife."

"I missed everything vital and he's fine, isn't he? And I'll point out you didn't ask me to do anything at that time."

_Fair_, Hiei internally conceded. "I still wouldn't call you 'obedient'."

"Just because I haven't been submissive doesn't mean I've been defiant." That was also fair.

"Your looks are defiant." Kurama looked coolly over his shoulder, finally turning to face the crime lord.

"My looks are of contempt," he corrected. He seemed to have calmed down and instead of barely contained fury, he was speaking in an even tone. It was like he had put up a shield and behind it, he had managed to control himself. Now he was able to let himself back out. "Defiance requires context. If I'm glaring at you while doing as you say, it's not really defiance, now is it."

_Fuck. I hate it when I get subordinates smarter than me._ Okay, he didn't really believe that Kurama was smarter than him (or, he might be, maybe), but he _was_ clearly smarter than Hiei was giving him credit for.

"I guess not," Hiei conceded. He moved off the door, heading over to the redhead. "Give me your backpack." Kurama had yet to take it off and he tensed away from Hiei.

"Why?"

"_That_ would be defiance," Hiei informed.

"Reluctance and suspicion," Kurama countered. "Why?"

"To make sure you didn't bring anything along that I don't want you to have," Hiei explained, though he didn't know why. He should just take it. And a bit too late, he reached forward and grabbed the strap, pulling on it. "Give." Kurama muttered something under his breath, the only part of which Hiei caught being "child", and slid his arms out, crossing them back over his chest. He watched the crime lord head over to the bed, at least nice enough to dump the contents onto a soft surface rather than the floor.

Hiei just upended the whole thing, holding open the mouth and shaking it a little to get everything. Clothes, for one, neatly folded; enough changes for a few days. They were pretty generic; two t-shirts, one white and one green, two pairs of jeans, a green button-up shirt, a black long-sleeved shirt, a pair of white sweat pants, a pair of black slacks, socks and underwear. On top of the pile fell books, just paperbacks to read. Then a wallet, a cellphone, a fairly cheap but attractive slim black watch, toothbrush, and toothpaste. That was it; just clothes, a few books, and a just routine essentials when leaving the house, at all and for a while. Of course, in shaking it, Hiei swore he heard something moving around.

"Something you were trying to hide?"He glanced back and saw Kurama's brows furrow a little in thought, then pull back in realization.

"No," he answered, even as Hiei back searching the bag. "I forgot one of my friends had put something in there for safe keeping a while back. It's just a key chain."

"Girlfriend?", Hiei guessed as he spotted a pouch on the inside with an easy to miss zipper and pulled it open.

"No, just a friend." His fingers brushed against something smooth and round and he pulled it out. It was an orb of glass hung from a black cord. Inside, perfectly untouched and beautiful, was what looked like a tiny rose. It had all the folds and petals of a real rose, and the color was just as red and vibrant as the ones trying to take over Hiei's garden.

"Ooh." He couldn't help it; it was pretty, and he'd been raised as a thief. He heard Kurama move forward.

"No wait, that's-" Hiei turned, keeping it away from the redhead as he reached for it

"It's not your friend's key chain. You lied?"

"No, she must have taken that out. That's my mother's."

"So you stole it?" A dark look passed over Kurama's face.

"I would never do that," he said in a tone that was warning, despite no threat having been made. "Give it back." Hiei raised an eyebrow, letting it dangle slightly.

"So how did it end up in your bag?" He could see Kurama fighting to remain calm.

"I don't know. _Please_, give it back." Again, Hiei was caught. Keep it and use it as leverage later, or give it back as a reward for asking "nicely".

_Well, I want him to be happy, but he's already pissed. Giving it back won't really help. It'll make more of an impact if I give it back when he's not pissed at me, right?_

The logic made sense. Just giving it back wouldn't really improve Kurama's opinion of him now. But if he gave it back in a lighter mood, showing that he didn't forget things and rewarded good behavior...that seemed like a better plan.

"I think I'll keep it." The dark look on Kurama's face broke to reveal an almost hopeless, desperate look.

"Please," he asked again, sounding much more sincere. "It meant a lot to my mother."

_Don't say you don't care, don't say don't care, don't say you don't care_. Biting back his natural sarcastic response, Hiei also resisted the urge to smirk.

"I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward." He pocketed it, snatching up Kurama's phone as well.

"I'd rather you not tell everyone where we are," he explained. He had to admit, he was enjoying the look of hurt the redhead had.

_Got the "sadistic tendencies" right_, he realized, heading for the door.

"I'll bring you something to eat," he called. A glance back before closing the door showed him Kurama still had that look that he'd failed, betraying someone he loved deeply.

"Please-" he tried again, but Hiei closed the door sharply and locked it. Pausing, he sighed a little, scratching the back of his head.

_I'm a terrible person_. Which was a weird thought, because he'd done a lot worse to people than just withhold a necklace from them. He pulled said necklace out, turning it over in his fingers. It really was beautiful; he could see why it was treasured. It looked old, with little chips and cracks here and there, so she'd probably had it a long time.

_Hm...I'll have to ask him about it._ His mind made a loud click to remind him of his actions just a few minutes ago and he had to hold back from hitting himself in the head.

_Fuck. Okay, I'll ask him when I give it back to him._ His curiosity whined, and he ignored it, slipping the necklace back into his pocket and heading downstairs. He was hungry, so he really was going to go get something to eat. He'd bring Kurama something too. A chirping noise brought him out of thoughts of sandwiches and other things easily transported upstairs, and he poked his head into the kitchen.

Puu was sitting at the counter, watching a little, bright red bird flutter around in a golden cage.

"Hey, you think Hiei-sama will like it?"

"Is it shiny," their chef asked, not even looking up from making himself a snack.

"Yeah."

"Then he'll like it."

"Pretty much," Hiei agreed, coming in and making a beeline for the caged bird. Puu nearly fell over and out of his seat.

"Hiei-sama!", he squeaked. Hiei made a grunt of acknowledgment, picking up the cage with both hands and watching the bird flutter around. It really was pretty, even if it looked terrified. It cheeped and chirped, pin-balling around the thin bars in a frantic attempt to fly away.

_Too bad. You're mine now._ Something tugged at his brain and he paused, eyes following the bird more closely.

Vibrant red feathers, like vibrant red hair, held in a cage that _was_ rather big and pretty but was, in the end, a cage.

_...Um...whoa._ He wasn't aware life fore-shadowed quite this much. Almost nervously he set the cage down, turning it absentmindedly, just for something to do with it that wouldn't seem suspicious.

"Um...Hiei-sama...?", Puu asked uncertainly. "Is it all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll take it up to my room later." He felt that was enough to smooth over his turning away. "I'm just going to get some food." The bird chirped nervously in it's cage, and Hiei worked to ignore it.

_It's nothing_, he told himself firmly. _Just coincidence. There's no symbolism in it or anything like that. It's a bird, he's a person. Don't be stupid._ He relaxed a little and began debating what kind of sandwiches he should make.

~**And now for something completely different...**~

_Damn. Damn damn damn damn_. Kurama ran both of his hands through his hair, unconsciously pacing around in an aimless pattern. Eventually he gave up, sitting down on the edge of the bed and holding his head in his hands. He felt tired, stressed, angry, and terrified out of his mind.

_Why me? Why us? Why _now_?_ It was selfish, but couldn't this bastard have kidnapped him at some time _other_ than in the _middle_ of exams, which Kurama was having enough trouble with already thanks to his mother's roller coaster health (that was currently taking a dip), the death of his and his friends' mentor, and being the anchor for all of his friends in their hectic lives?

_No, because that would be convenient, wouldn't it._ And on top of it all, seeing his mother's favored necklace in the hands of that...that...

Kurama couldn't come up with an insult strong enough and gave up on it, moving his hands to hold up his face instead of gripping his skull. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against the lids like prison bars. He kept replaying the scene in his mind where Hiei held up the rose, rolling it in his fingers before slipping it into his pocket. His mother had always loved it, and Kurama himself had treasured it too. He'd been fascinated by it since he was very little when she would let him hold it while sitting in her lap. That necklace only had good memories and feelings for him attached to it.

And now it was gone. _I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward,_ an all too casual and uncaring tone said in his head, replaying just as often as the image did. Kurama squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would help at all.

_I think I'll keep it. I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward. I think I'll keep it. I'll give it back to you sometime, as a reward. I think I'll keep it._ Shaking his head, the teen tried to ignore it as he stood up and grabbed his clothes, shoving them back into his bag. He wanted to keep everything he still owned in a place of his own choosing. He shoved everything in and held the bag to his chest, looking for somewhere to store it. To be honest he didn't want to leave it anywhere. He wanted to keep it on him as much as possible, but he imagined that one, he would get mocked for it, two, probably by Hiei, and three, he would more than likely be told to leave it somewhere. So, might as well come up with somewhere now.

_And then be told, purely for personal enjoyment, to move it somewhere else._ He ended up stashing it under the bed behind a few dusty boxes that looked like they had been shoved under there to be hidden.

_Why does he have to hide stuff in his own room, in his own house?_ The reason escaped him, but he didn't question it. He could get to his bag quickly, and it was pretty well disguised behind the other stuff. A sharp pain went through his chest as he sat back on his heels. Hiei had taken away his phone, right when he really could have done with hearing Yusuke or Kuwabara's voice. Sure, it would probably be listening to them scream and rage after hearing about what had happened, but hearing them at all would have made him feel better. As it was, he was completely cut off.

Anyone else would have panicked, but the redhead was pretty good at not panicking, except under one or two situations (and those had involved serious injury, and he'd only really panicked _after_ everything was taken care of and no one was in danger of death).Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and tried to keep calm. Getting upset and worked up would get him nothing right now, except maybe pleasing that asshole crime lord more.

_He's just trying to goad you_, he told himself, standing up and gathering his hair into a ponytail held up by his hand before letting it go; it was an unconscious, comforting gesture. _Just stay calm and don't do anything to get yourself in more trouble. Which means no more open hostility, if you can manage that._

Which was a shame, because his resentful side had been seriously considering trying to block the door with something, just to try and get back at the other at least a little.

_No,_ he chastised, frowning a little. _Stay. Calm. Mother isn't in danger of being hurt anymore, and as long as I'm obedient, he has no reason to go after her._ He took another deep breath and gathered up his hair again. It was easier to calm down with that thought. Before, he'd been that angry because Hiei had so carelessly threatened his mother. The anger had been to cover up how scared he was. Now he needed to hide it behind calm.

A third deep breath, and his anger was slowly ebbing away. All it had to leave behind though was tiredness, stress, and fear. Fourth deep breath.

_Calm,_ he reminded himself, rubbing his eyes. _You'll be fine._ He doubted that, but it was a nice thought at least.

"It would help if I actually knew what I was here for," he said aloud to himself. The anger started to flow back and he took an irritable fifth breath. The breaths were starting to help less and less.

_You're my property. I'll figure out what to do with you soon enough. For now, you're merely a decoration._

"Not helpful," he sighed. He felt too tired to really be angry, and it receded again. He reached up to rub the back of his neck, but his hand abruptly stopped as he was reminded of who else had touched him there, maybe an hour ago. He snatched his hand away from that particular part of his body and, despite the actions calming him down (and getting blood flakes, that he'd yet to wash away, out), he forced his hands to stay at his side.

_Note to self, try to keep him away from the back of my neck_. Tiredness began creeping up on him again; he'd been in the middle of a nap when their house had been broken into, trying to make up for not sleeping much last night. He was still tired, and that bed was so cushy...

_It's also part of the dark side. Leave it. _That's right. He shouldn't get used to it: he _would_ be sleeping on the floor, one way or another. He didn't want to be any closer to that man than he absolutely had to.

_And you'll be sleeping naked._

_Cause I really needed to hear _that_ right now._ He withheld a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Why me?", he asked no one in particular. The door clicked and he quickly moved his arms to his chest, crossing them over each other and turning back to the window. It opened a second later, toed open further by Hiei, whom was juggling a plate with two sandwiches in one hand and a gold bird cage in the other.

"Whenever you're done sulking, I have food."

_Like I'd take food from you._

"I'm not hungry."

~**And now back to your regularly scheduled bastard.**~

"You ate before we left?", Hiei asked skeptically, putting the plate down and clearing off a spot for the caged bird.

"I'm just not hungry," Kurama said calmly. Hiei set the bird down on a shelf, half-admiring how it looked while surreptitiously glancing back. Was this a passive form of disobedience, or was Kurama really just not hungry?

_Can't imagine today's events helping his appetite much_.

"Fine. Then you can go take a shower. The bathroom's through there, and I know there's some... shampoo conditioner hair stuff whatever in there." He really didn't care much about his hair; he left getting stuff like that to Ruka. She made sure it was always stocked and clearly labeled, so he didn't pay much attention to it.

"Shower?", Kurama asked calmly.

"You still have blood in your hair. Go wash it out." Kurama uncurled his arms from around himself, heading into the bathroom without saying anything else. He didn't really need to be told how to take a shower, and since he'd already been given permission to use the basic care products, there was no need for more conversation. His last "statement" was firmly closing and locking the door behind him. It was pretty clear he was trying to say "Stay _out". _

_ I didn't need to be told that_, Hiei grumbled internally. As tempting as the idea was to sit in and watch the water and suds flow easily down red locks of hair, the vibrant red standing out against pale skin that it clung to when wet, he wouldn't...

_Wow, that idea's a _lot_ more tempting than I thought it was..._ The opportunity had been missed, however, and he tried not to dwell on it. It would be just a little weird to break down his own bathroom door, and would probably not help the situation. He made up for it by continuing the voyeuristic fantasy in his head, starting to stack other red and gold things around the bird cage. He liked making little pretty collections like this around his room, matching up baubles and other shiny things that looked good together. He briefly entertained the idea of making Kurama a collection himself, decorating him with matching jewelry.

The bird was still flying around chirping like mad, and Hiei switched to finding a blanket to throw over it. Eventually he pulled a pillowcase off one of his pillows and slid it over the cage.

"Shut up," he told the bird conversationally. It chirped and cheeped for a bit longer, but eventually calmed down.

_That was easy_, Hiei snorted, heading over to his bed. He stopped at the edge, hand out to gather up Kurama's things and move them out of the way, when he noticed they were gone. Everything had been cleared off his bed, even the bag.

_Huh_. Curiosity and pride begged him to look around for it, just to rub in the teen's face that he couldn't hide anything, but in all honesty, Hiei didn't really care enough. If Kurama wanted to keep all the things he had left stashed somewhere, fine. Hiei wouldn't actively go searching for it. If he did, it was likely all he would get out of it was Kurama being more pissed and just showing that angry expression of his. Nothing new, so it wasn't even worth it.

He flopped onto the bed, folding his arms back behind his head. He had to go talk to Sakyo tomorrow about business, and he was debating taking Kurama with him. Though when he looked at the pros and cons, that second category greatly overwhelmed the first.

To start it off with the pros, he would be able to keep Kurama with him where he could keep on eye on him. And, hoping Kurama would behave (which Hiei had a feeling he would), he could show him off to Sakyo. ...That was really about it for the pros, because the cons covered everything else.

First of all, there was the chance Kurama _wouldn't_ behave, and that reflected badly on Hiei. Secondly and more importantly, actually, was Kurama would be put in the middle of what he did and would hear and learn _everything_. One, that was a little much for someone who had until an hour or two ago been a normal, middle-class good boy. Two, that made him _way_ too much of a danger. He would know too much too early, earlier than Hiei was ready to let him in on (if that every happened). It was bad enough that he already knew where Hiei lived-

"Oh fuck." That's right. He hadn't even bothered to hide his location. Hell, he'd even flaunted it, letting Kurama sit out in the middle of the car, eyes wide open. Even if he'd been staring ahead, if he was as half as smart as Hiei suspected, he'd picked up on where they were. The realization made Hiei sit up abruptly and he ran a hand through his hair.

_Okay...calm down. It's not like he's going to run off or anything, and it's still a long walk, even if the car ride is short. _Running a hand through his hair, he calmed himself and lay back down.

So, no, Kurama couldn't come with him tomorrow.

_Which means I'll either need to lock him up here_- He personally hated being cooped up in one place for too long and in turn didn't like doing it to others, unless he disliked them -_or find someone to watch over him_. Well...there was Shishi, but he might try to "check" Kurama's gender again, or (more likely) just piss him off. He could go leave him with Mukuro, though she wasn't his subordinate and he didn't have any control over her schedule. That, and he wasn't sure he wanted her talking to Kurama alone, for a whole day, just yet. Again, if ever.

Definitely not Yomi, since Hiei didn't trust him at all. He was the polite and diplomatic kind of bloodthirsty and merciless, and he always kept his true motives and intentions hidden. Not to mention he, like Mukuro, was not Hiei's subordinate, and thus Hiei really had no control over him. Not Toguro, since he would be coming with Hiei. His staff was too submissive; he needed someone who could keep Kurama in line.

_What about Suzuka?_, he pondered. Sure, he could be a bit of an idiot personality-wise, but he had no lack of intelligence, and he could hold his own. It still didn't seem like quite a fit. He needed someone like Toguro to keep an eye on him; someone who wasn't an idiot of any kind, and a total rock. Suzuka might fall prey to Kurama's icy chill.

_I suppose I could use Karasu._ He frowned a little. Yeah, Karasu could definitely hold his own and wouldn't fall at the first sign of Kurama trying to intimidate him. Still, he wasn't sure how much he liked the idea. He trusted Karasu enough not to betray him, as long as he treated him with a fair amount of respect and kept his paycheck even. He knew Karasu didn't go behind his back or squeal to anyone, but he wasn't what Hiei would exactly call a "loyal subject". Compared to Toguro, with whom Hiei trusted his life, Karasu was an extremely shady character.

_He's convenient though, and he'll keep a close watch on Kurama. I'll just tell Shishi to check in every so often and intervene if things get too ugly between them._ The plan seemed solid and he relaxed, closing his eyes and waiting for Kurama to come out. He didn't have to wait too long; a few minutes later the door unlocked and opened.

"Am I allowed to change into my own clothes or did you prefer to dress me?" His eyes were already open before his brain could process the meaning behind the words. He was rewarded with the image of a half- to mostly-naked Kurama, hair still shiny and dripping wet, clinging to his bare chest. (Well wouldn't you call that a rewarding sight?) Water droplets made trails down from his gorgeous locks to his lean stomach and then into the cloth of the towel wrapped around his waist. He had a comb Hiei only partially recognized in his hand, another towel draped around his shoulders.

Hiei followed the water droplets with his eyes, abandoning them as they reached the dark towel and running back up the slim body to red hair turned a few shades dark with the water. A few strands stuck to his face, serving only to emphasize the contrast of red with pale skin, and helping bring out the emerald color of his eyes.

After almost a minute, Kurama cleared his throat pointedly. "Hello?", he called.

"Hm?", Hiei answered distractedly, following a series of beads that slid down from Kurama's hair.

"Did you hear me?" Crimson eyes snapped back up to Kurama's face.

"What?" The green eyes were briefly obscured by closed lids and dark red lashes as the teen tried to dispel his annoyance.

"I asked if I could change into my own clothes or if you preferred to dress me. It's still early, but you said you wanted to choose my nighttime attire. I wanted to see if that was for now or later." Oh, right.

"Change into whatever you like," Hiei said idly, going back to his shameless staring. Kurama's jaw clenched, a habit he seemed to have whenever he was annoyed, and walked smoothly over to the bed. For a second Hiei froze up internally. Kurama was headed directly for him and there were only two real rational scenarios that the crime lord's mind could come up with. One, he'd hidden his clothes and books somewhere near where he was sitting and was coming over to get them. This was the most likely one, but his brain was already skipping off into la-la land and Hiei couldn't quite manage to catch it.

Thus, two, Kurama was coming over to do something rather...adult. And that's what was making Hiei freeze up. He didn't know what to do. Despite what people thought, he had _never_ had sex, nor had he ever really entertained the idea. There had either been no interest (when he was younger), no time, no _one_, and often on Hiei's part, lack of interest in people and just general paranoia. He didn't trust anything given to him by anyone outside of his own tight-knit "empire", from which even Sakyo was excluded, and even if he did grow to trust someone, he saw them as a comrade more than a bed partner. It had never crossed his mind to sleep with a one of them, not even Ruka (which wasn't his fault because she wasn't even his type).

People seemed to think the opposite of this (not the paranoia thing, the lack of interest in people) because of how much he liked beautiful people. What they didn't get was that beautiful people were like shiny baubles to Hiei; they were pretty and so, on general principle, he wanted to own them and have them around to admire.

Not a one of them had ever approached Hiei half- to mostly-naked and wet, having just come from a shower.

_...Uh...!_ Kurama was now standing in front of the bed and knelt, reaching under for something. Hiei stared at the top of his head, feeling his racing heartbeat slow down. Right. He'd hidden his backpack under the bed. Fairly smart, considering Hiei didn't look under there that much. As the redhead straightened, the crime lord let out a small sigh and managed to pull his eyes away.

_Damn...that was clo-HOLY SHIT!_ He froze right back up as Kurama knelt on the bed, leaning over the lower half of Hiei's body, face coming closer and closer. He had the most teasing, seductive smile Hiei had ever had aimed at him – and the only one that had ever affected him.

"What are you thinking about?", Kurama asked in a soft, honeyed voice. A drop of water fell on Hiei's stomach, soaking through the cloth. Hiei's voice physically caught in his throat, and the tension there almost kept him from breathing, let alone saying something. He stared at the face in front of his and for once he was at a complete loss of what to say. Then Kurama leaned in _even closer_, and for a split second Hiei was terrified that the other was about to kiss him. Thankfully, his lips moved past his, almost brushing against his ear. He shivered as red hair brushed against his face just barely. He was reminded strongly of when he'd found the sensitive spot on the back of Kurama's neck and how the other shivered, and could have hit himself at how easily their positions had been reversed.

"Whatever it is," Kurama murmured, breath washing over the crime lord's skin, "you might want to stop." And then he was gone, moving off the bed and taking his backpack into the bathroom with him. He closed the door behind him firmly again and locked it. Hiei came to several seconds later, mind still supplying the hallucination of Kurama right next to him, whispering in his ear like that. He found himself lying half-propped up by the pillows, staring straight ahead with his hands gripping the sheets so tightly they were numb. Every single bit of him was tense, including...

Kurama came out a minute later, dressed in the green button up shirt and dark slacks, to find Hiei heading out, eyes furious and cheeks tinged pink.

"Eat the damn sandwich!", he yelled over his shoulder before slamming the door shut behind him. Kurama blinked a little, then shrugged and finished buttoning up his shirt.

_Serves you right, asshole._

End Chapter Two

**A/N: **Well, that was pretty quick, considering my track record. Sadly, it's now 1:30, and I can't start the next chapter because I'm tired and would like to go to bed. So, please enjoy reading, and good night and sweet dreams!


	3. Chapter 3: Your Use

**JGgirl:** Why thank you. :3 I kind of like the idea that Kurama knows the effects of his actions quite well.

**SanguineFox:** Thank you very much. I feel like it has too, and I've found I really enjoy rewriting it in my newfound style.

**mYtORnsaNDaLs: **Creepy, but purposeful. w fufufufu. And I like to think they're more in character. However, I think that they won't be exactly like they are in the series because of how I've changed their dynamics: the pure basics are there, such as Hiei's past and Kurama's interests (stealing) and his maturity, but I've taken away hundreds of years of experience and great cosmic (demonic) power. They're humans here, so they're likely to have less control than they normally do, and probably less all knowing. However, I'm hoping to keep most of their character together. :)

**Miisao-sama:** Hey, it's cheaper than crack, and you don't have to pay me oogles of money to get me to post. And as for their relationship, right now it's kind of a 'child likes toy, toy hates child'. XD

**Crystal:** 3 Well, good for you guys I'm having fun with this.

**applepie2334:** Woot! :D I'm glad I got one of my favorite characters down right, so thank you!

**CreedKeeper:** Patience: it's a virtue. :3 I'm glad you seem to be enjoying this version, and I hope you continue to enjoy it.

**Shout-outs for faving or watching:** Ekaki no Hikari, JGgirl, dark-anime-lover2, Miisao-sama, A Dangerous Notion, Andrew's Slinky, Delu, applepie2334, idolkami, and CreedKeeper. Thank you so much for all the love!

**Chapter Three**

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck __**FUCK**__!_

It didn't matter how many times over Hiei thought it (85 times in that past paragraph), the only curse word he could think of did nothing to ease...anything, really. His stress, his anger, his frustration, both sexual and otherwise, and the tension still cuddling up to every part of his body with far too much familiarity. And actually, now that he thought about it more, that was probably the worst swear word to be thinking of repeatedly in this particular instance.

_**Fuuuck**__!_, he thought again for good measure, nearly slamming his head onto his desk as he threw himself into his chair. He'd been pacing around for almost half an hour, and he _still_ couldn't get Kurama out of his head. He'd been so utterly beautiful at that moment, and the image of it had branded itself into Hiei's mind. He couldn't forget even a single, unimportant detail about it. Everything was as clear as if he was still half lying on his bed, the gorgeous red-haired teen kneeling over him, whispering in his ear.

_What are you thinking about?_ And god, that _voice_! He was beautiful in every aspect; his looks, his mind, his expressions, his voice...he was so perfect it was infuriating.

"Fuck!", Hiei finally yelled out, slamming his head against the desk. This was the first time someone had affected him so much. And he'd had him less than a damn day!

_Okay...think about this rationally,_ he tried to reason, lifting his smarting head and rubbing it. _When have I ever had someone in my room, seriously? Especially someone with looks like his, and how many times have I let them take a shower? I was just surprised, that's all. I don't get a lot of chances to see someone I find attractive like..._ He swallowed. _That_.

With this reasoning, he was feeling a little better. He sat back slowly, crossing his arms over his chest as he continued down this line of thinking.

_And he was going out of his way to get to me. It wasn't like I was this bothered by him just because he came out of the shower. He was actually _trying_ to get me to respond. He knew what he was doing and he knew what he looked like, and he was playing to that. Who wouldn't be bothered, really?_

That sounded like good reasoning to Hiei, and he found himself able to relax. Though, even as he relaxed, he found he still had a problem. The sound reasoning was all well and good, but it still left that Hiei had in fact been bothered by Kurama.

_Damn it,_ he sighed, looking down at himself. Now came the question of what did he do about it? The natural response seemed to be to...well...take care of it. At that, Hiei scowled. He really detested the idea, to be honest. Desperately fondling oneself in an attempt to achieve release was something horny teenagers did. Hiei had never been in that stage in his life. And if he had, it was as fleeting as a minute or two when he saw a pretty woman in a brothel. He didn't have any intention of starting _now_.

But the tension was fairly painful, and he really needed to do something about it. Of course, ten minutes later he was still staring at it, still not moving to take care of it. His mind "conveniently" supplied reminders of why he was in this situation, so it didn't seem to be going away on it's own.

_Fuck, I should just get it over with, shouldn't I?_ This 'dancing around the subject' thing wasn't really his style. That in mind, he grudgingly stood and made his way to the bathroom by his study, closing and locking the door shut behind him.

...Why did the bathrooms in his house have to be so damn _clean_.

_Because I employ a cleaning staff_, he realized flatly, leaning back against the door. _Fuck me._

_What are you thinking about?_, Kurama's imagined voice murmured. Closing his eyes, Hiei reached over and flipped the light switch off. He was about to watch himself do this, and the dark felt safer. And with the dark, there was no red seeping through his eyelids to distort the image of Kurama.

_What are you thinking about?_ Shivering, Hiei let his hand trace over his stomach, gently rubbing the spot where the water had seeped through his shirt. It had already dried, but it still felt so incredibly sensitive. He remembered the scent, and breathed in as if to try and catch it. He smelled like warm water and something else; maybe whatever he used previously sinking into his body. Or maybe Ruka had gotten him something that smelled pretty as a joke. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He didn't need to know exactly what it was; he just needed to remember it.

It came easily, his mind creating a taste for it and trickling it down the back of his throat. Behind his eyelids, he didn't even try to push away the image. It played out as clearly as if he were still living it. He shuddered as red hair brushed against his cheek. Why hadn't he lifted his hand to feel the bare chest hovering right above his? In his mind he corrected that mistake, sliding his fingertips up silky soft skin. The hand still resting on his stomach began to move down. His pants were all too constricting and the scratchy fabric was too much of a contrast to the softness that he was imagining to be pleasurable and he had no dilemma with undoing the clasp and pushing the clothes down some.

_What are you thinking about?_

~**Anyone got something more addicting to listen to than "Needle Through a Bug" from Repo the Genetic Opera?**~

It was mocking him. The sandwich, that is. Sitting there and looking all delicious, while his stomach couldn't decide if it wanted to eat or throw up. Kurama knew he was staring at it almost obsessively, sitting on the window seat and half slumped down against his own arm. However, he didn't particularly have a desire to do otherwise. His stomach clenched and twisted painfully, but he didn't know if it was nerves or hunger. It felt more like nerves than hunger and he finally dragged his eyes away from the sandwich.

_I'm not hungry_, he tried to convince himself. It wasn't that hard; it was much harder to convince himself that he wasn't tired. He stood, walking around in thought. He'd already moved his backpack into an unused corner of Hiei's closet and covered it up with a few scattered clothes, the first hiding spot compromised by needing to get clean clothes. Without that, he had nothing to distract himself. He found himself looking over the various nick-knacks that took up most of the room.

_They're a little too valuable to be just nick-knacks,_ Kurama noted as he turned a silver and obsidian necklace over in his hands. Some of them weren't expensive (a few were just attractive glass jewelry), but all of them were pretty and eye-catching. It was like the room was full of things Kurama had always resisted picking up off the ground or stealing from a shop, even though his pick-pocketing skills were more than good enough (skills he'd picked up from hanging out with Yusuke, who was second in theft only to the redhead himself). He found himself frowning lightly at an opal bracelet, even though he rather liked the slim design.

_I don't have anything in common with him_, he denied to himself. He tried to leave it at that, but there was a nagging at the back of his mind. If he could have everything perfect, his room would be decorated similarly to Hiei's. Full of pretty, shiny things, some of them probably stolen (even Kurama couldn't deny that he felt a thrill from stealing). The main difference would be that in addition to a surplus of pretties, he would do his best to surround himself in as many plants as possible. He would have them hanging from the ceiling, arranged over the shelves and even growing up the walls if he could (sadly, as pretty as vines were, they could cause some rather nasty structural damage).

_So we're not the same, not even close._ But he already knew that. It was the fact that he actually liked how the room looked that was getting to him. He dropped the opal bracelet he'd been holding onto and headed over to the window.

_Just quit thinking about it,_ he ordered, sitting back down at his previous spot. He tried to keep from leaning back into one of the huge cushy pillows propped up against the wall. His body protested this strongly, begging him to just lay back and sleep. It looked so comfortable...

Shaking his head, as if to wake himself, Kurama stood. If it was going to be like this, then he would just sit on the floor. He lowered himself, folding his legs under his body and placing his hands firmly on his thighs. He kept his head turned forward, straightening his back and refusing to move. He could sit like this for a while; maybe an hour or so, before his legs grew numb and he started to slump forward, back aching.

_I'll figure out what to do after I get to that,_ he decided, sighing and closing his eyes. It wasn't the best meditative pose, but he didn't want to get comfortable. _I'll train my body to treat this room as uncomfortable. And if I'm meditating, I'm not looking at anything. _

It turned from trying to clear his crowded head to starting to fall asleep. He couldn't help but drift off, despite his attempts at keeping his eyes open. He was tired, and all the stress from his situation he'd been trying to block out was taking up residence in the muscles in his shoulders; it was just so much easier to try and go to sleep. He tried to force his eyes open, but they ignored his attempts and kept sliding back closed. The room was quiet, and a barrage of questions found a way into his conscious, sleep having let down his defenses.

What was he going to do about school? Was this permanent or could he get out someday? Should he go to the police if he got out? Before then? Would that do any good? Crime lords were notorious for getting around the police, right? What would happen to him if he did go to the police? More importantly, what would happen to his _family_? And his friends? And _their_ families? Why was all of this being forced on him if his step-father was the one who borrowed money and then didn't pay?

And while he was thinking about it (he found himself less reluctant to let it in, because the wondering was starting to wake him up), why had his step-father borrowed so much? Yes, his mother's medical bills had been draining, and they were tight for cash, but they'd never needed ten _million_.

_But_, he thought, opening his eyes. _It's not like we couldn't have used it. The house needed repair, and he needed help with his company, and we had debts in addition to mom's problems._ Things he hadn't noticed before started to come out at him, things that slid by his notice either out of actual ignorance or unwillingness to question real, lasting help for once.

Their medical bills really were taken care of. His mother had finally gotten an expensive treatment she'd needed that helped with most of her problems, and they didn't have to worry about the cost of taking her back in for check-ups and medication. His step-father's company had managed to really get off it's feet and they were doing well for themselves. They'd paid off all of their debt, and Kurama had actually been able to transfer into a better school was more suited to him. All of these things had happened in such quick succession that before Kurama had just assumed it was because his step-father's business had picked up and brought in so much money suddenly. Though looking back on it, he realized there was no way that could be possible. Then, and even now to some extent, the company was too small to bring in that much personal profit.

His anger at his step-father had completely left him at this point. What he felt now wasn't anger so much as...a sort of disappointed affection. He knew the man was just trying to help; he really did love Shiori, and he'd honestly wanted to help them. He'd wanted to give them a white knight that came in and took away all of their problems, not add more of his own with his struggling business and the stress of a middle-aged man. But in doing so, he'd accepted help from someone with intentions much less pure.

Kurama couldn't help but smile a little at the image of Hiei as an overdone evil magician, complete with evil mustache, gaudy 'stars and moons' cape, and fangs. _No, if I keep that in my head, I'm going to laugh every time I see him._ He toned it back to something more sinister, trying to give Hiei _some_ dignity. He lost the facial hair and fangs, and his cloak became pure black and a hood replaced the puffy collar. Shaking his head, Kurama tried to get rid of the whole analogy. As interesting as it was, he wasn't a child anymore and didn't need to lose himself in fantasy play lands.

That, and with the way it was going, Kurama was ending up as the trapped princess in a tower.

_I guess Yusuke and Kuwabara could be my knights,_ he mused, closing his eyes and trying to imagine the two in armor. They looked more like mercenaries by the time he was done conjuring their image up in his fantasy world. Which worked too.

_Hm...and that big man, the one that grabbed me, I guess he could be the dragon._ He gave up on trying to dispel the whole thing. It was fun, and it distracted him from the seriousness of the situation. Though he ended up in a dress, and that was kind of odd. He was in the middle of trying to tweak himself to look more like an actual boy (in the process turning himself into an elf, for some reason) when two hands suddenly threaded through his hair and stroked his neck. His eyes flew open and he moved to jump up and away from the culprit.

He got the 'away', but the 'up' eluded him in the face of his legs falling asleep.

He fell forward onto the floor and, covering his mistake, twisted himself around and began to back-pedal on his hands. Half-crouched over, hands receding from their outstretched position to rest on his knees, Hiei smirked.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself." He straightened calmly, brushing off his pants as if he'd actually gotten something on them. Kurama cut his emotions off, face turning neutral. He said nothing as he remained where he was: his legs were still asleep, and he didn't want to make a fool of himself trying to stand on them.

"What were you thinking about?" The tone was half-mocking, and the redhead tried to keep from scowling.

"Just something to amuse myself," he said calmly. He remembered his first, overdone version of Hiei the Magician and forced himself not to smile.

"Care to let me in on it?"

"No." He tensed a little as his legs began to wake up and now filled with pins and needles. He ignored it, focusing instead on Hiei. Whom he hoped didn't really make him tell him about what he was thinking of. Thankfully, he dropped it.

"You didn't eat the sandwich."

"I told you, I'm not hungry."

"Too bad," Hiei said uncaringly, crossing over to the desk and picking up the plate. "You're going to eat it anyway." He came back over and nearly dropped it into the teen's lap. Kurama instinctively caught it. Hiei sat down across from him, leaning back against the wall and crossing his arms and legs over each other. Kurama gave him a withering look.

"Do you enjoy ordering me around or something?" Hiei smirked.

"That's it exactly." Of course it was. "And don't tell me this is torment or something. It's just eating a sandwich. What are you, a girl?"

"You saw for yourself I'm not." The response came easily and without too much thought behind it. However, Kurama found he greatly enjoyed watching the emotions that flickered over the crime lord's face. First he blanched, then he pinkened slightly. It was barely noticeable, just a light dusting over his cheeks and the tip of his nose. He scowled.

"Then just eat the sandwich." Biting the inside corner of his lip, Kurama forced himself not smile. He looked down at the sandwich in his hands and his stomach squeezed again. Now that he was this close and could smell it, he found he really wasn't hungry. It was nerves making him feel nauseous.

"I'm really not hungry," he told Hiei again, trying to sound more sincere this time.

"I don't care." Damn. Taking a quiet breath, Kurama brought it up to his lips and took a small bite. His body protested the whole time the food was in his mouth, and he nearly threw up just trying to swallow it.

_It's not worth it_, he sighed internally, setting the plate aside quietly. Hiei's slight blush was gone and he was watching him silently.

~**Still addicted, but it switches between this and Enya.**~

_Guess he really isn't hungry. _He watched the redhead force a bite down and then set the plate beside him with a disgusted delicacy. Hiei hated to waste food, but he wasn't going to force someone to eat who honestly wasn't hungry, and was having trouble eating food anyway.

"It's not going to make you fat," he pointed out sarcastically. He wasn't going to push for Kurama to keep eating, but he wasn't going to just accept it without poking fun at the other.

"That's not what my stomach is concerned about."

_You could stand to gain some weight anyway._ Kurama wasn't sickly thin; his body seemed more like it was recovering from a period where he'd neglected three square meals a day.

"You'll eat tomorrow then," Hiei decided, standing and moving to pick the plate up. Kurama didn't move, but he did seem to tense up a little. Hiei paused, still half bent over, head near Kurama's face. He still smelled nice. Taking a quick breath of the scent, he straightened up and moved back to his window seat, flopping down into the little nook and taking a bite of the food. He hated the idea of wasting food. As he ate, he considered the teen still sitting on the floor. He swallowed his fourth bite and spoke.

"I'm going out tomorrow. One of my subordinates will babysit you. You can go to the kitchen, common areas, and outside, but don't go beyond the fence, or down into the basement." He watched the other for his reaction, but he just nodded. It wasn't really disappointing, he had just been expecting more questions about where he was going and what he was doing. However, it seemed Kurama was perfectly fine not knowing more about Hiei's business than he really had to. Trying to provoke him into asking more about it seemed pointless, so Hiei let it be.

"If you're tired," he said, noting how the teen seemed to be drifting off again, "you can sleep on the bed." That snapped Kurama awake more than relaxed him.

"I'm not tired," he denied, pulling his legs back towards him and finally standing up.

"Not hungry, not tired, you just don't seem to have any needs to fill. Basic needs," he added at the look that crossed over Kurama's face.

"I suppose not." The quiet in the room was awkward, and Hiei quickly finished his food, just for something to do. He felt like one of them should be talking, or maybe doing something. He would have liked for Kurama to go to sleep so he could watch him. Which sounded stalker-ish and creepy, but he wanted to know what kind of expression the redhead wore when he was completely relaxed and unguarded.

_I bet he looks peaceful..._. He checked the time, but it was only approaching seven. It would still be at least three to four hours before he could reasonably make Kurama go to bed with him.

_So what am I supposed to do with him in this time?_ Well, for starters, he needed to take the plate back down. He moved off his seat, holding onto the plate.

"Come on. You can get a layout for where you're allowed tomorrow now, so I don't have to show you." While he was at it, he should probably think about what to get the boy to wear for tonight.

_Which brings up the question about what I should put him in..._ Turning that over in his mind, he held the door open for Kurama to walk past him into the hallway. A cold chill wrapped around him as he stepped out. He seemed distracted though, because his eyes flickered away from Hiei and down to a shape sitting at the top of the stairs. Shishi seemed to be rolling a few dice to amuse himself, the cubes clacking against the hardwood.

"Something you wanted, Shishi?", Hiei asked, unsurprised but a little irritated that the other was taking Kurama's attention so easily.

"Yep. Sakyo's on the phone for you. I was gonna get you earlier, but I figured you were busy with your new decoration." Glancing at Kurama, Hiei felt as if he could read his thoughts. He had a face that clearly expressed his interest in kicking Shishi down the stairs. He would have encouraged the teen to do it, but he had more pressing matters at the moment.

"How long has Sakyo been on the phone?"

"Only about five or ten minutes I think." Wonderful.

"Go get me the phone," he ordered, tone annoyed as he motioned Kurama to follow him. He shared the redhead's look in regards to his interests right now. Shishi handed up a phone from beside him.

"I told him why you couldn't come to the phone," he informed, going back to rolling his dice. Hiei kicked one of them down the hall, heading downstairs as he held the phone up to his ear.

"You still there?"

"_Yes, and I've won about four games of solitaire, just so you know._"

"Out of how many?", Hiei asked hypothetically. "You couldn't find anything more productive to do?"

"_Possibly. Shishiwakamaru told me about your new pet. How is she doing?_"

"He, and he's fine." Hiei glanced over at Kurama, whom was watching him with an almost curious expression watered down with a wall of neutrality. "He hasn't eaten though."

"_You're concerned?_"

"Not particularly. I'll get him to do it tomorrow." Heading into his study, Hiei flopped into his chair and motioned the redhead to sit and wait. It seemed the teen had picked up on what the conversation was about and looked mildly annoyed and exasperated as he sat down in another chair.

"_You'll have to bring him along to my party next week._"

"Perhaps. I'll have to see how he behaves. I'm hoping you called about something other than talking about my pet, considering Shishi told you about him _after_ you called. If you've gotten the ability to see the future, I would both like to know, and be frightened." Sakyo chuckled a little.

"_No, I can't see into the future; just predict it in certain situations. I called about tomorrow._"

"Right. Hold on a second." Holding the phone against his chest, Hiei motioned to the door dismissively.

"Go wait outside. There's a living room nearby you can sit in. Pick up a book or poke around or something, just try not to break anything." That irritated look was back, but it too was watered down. Standing, Kurama obediently left and closed the door behind him. Hiei brought the phone back up to his ear.

"Go ahead." The call was short, merely a quick confirmation of plans made before hand and minor updates. Soon enough Hiei hung up, setting the phone down and heading out himself.

_Well that killed about ten minutes. Still leaves me with two or three hours and forty-five minutes._ Toguro was leaning in the doorway of the living room, watching his self-appointed charge.

"I assume he's been behaving," Hiei asked, peeking in himself. Kurama was, quite literally, curled up on the couch with a book, looking like some overly large black, green and red cat.

_Now there's a thought..._

Toguro nodded. "What are you going to do with him?", he asked in a low voice so that the redhead wouldn't catch it. Hiei frowned a little, actually giving the question serious thought, if only because his right hand had asked it.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe train him or something. What do you think?" The man shrugged.

"I don't know him well enough." He moved off the door frame, hands slipping into his pockets. "But I don't think you should just use him as a decoration." With nothing else to say, he turned and wandered off. Hiei watched his broad back disappear down the hall. Toguro had amazingly good judgment of people, even if he'd only known or interacted with them for a short period of time. In regards to situations like this, Hiei was more than willing to trust his advice. He even sought it out sometimes. He could pick up on things after a time, but Toguro just had a knack for it. Not once had it done him wrong.

He didn't see any reason to alter from that now, but it did make him wonder just what he was going to do with Kurama. _I'll keep an eye on him and hope something comes to me,_ he only vaguely decided. He decided not to make any concrete plans in that regard and see how things turned out.

"Oi, Kurama." The teen's head picked up, closing his book and marking his spot with his thumb.

"Finished with your call?", he asked calmly.

"Pretty much. Come on." He'd finish showing him around where he could go and point out a few specifically forbidden spots. "You can come back for your book later," he added, watching the other set it back on it's shelf. He honestly had no idea what it was; he hadn't even read half of the books he owned. He just seemed to accumulate them from nowhere and had no reason to get rid of them, so they remained as decorations that sometimes would turn into actual reading material when he was bored.

"The kitchen is down the hall to the right," he indicated as Kurama came up to him, pointing down the hall in the correct direction. "You can go there and get something to eat when you're hungry. You can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner with me whenever I'm home, so you'll only need to go there for snacks." He pointed down a hallway that ran past the stairs.

"Library and another living room are down that way. That one is the one mainly used for business meetings though, so it's not as comfortable as this one. You can take books from the library into here, but just put them back. Under these stairs are the ones that lead to the basement. That-"

"Is forbidden," Kurama guessed. "I remember you saying not to go down there." Nodding, Hiei moved off leaning against the wall.

"Right." He headed down towards the back, bypassing the kitchen and heading to the back door. "Back here is the garden." He pushed the door open, holding it open for Kurama to step by him. He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting, but he hadn't expected one of disbelief and skepticism.

"You call this a garden?", Kurama asked almost hypothetically, mostly to himself. Hiei looked around. True, it wasn't really a garden as much as it was a jungle of roses that had exploded, vines that had gotten out of hand, flowers that were either being eaten by other plants, or were the ones doing the eating and expanding exponentially, and weeds that threatened to overthrow the whole thing.

"I never got around to hiring a gardener," he explained. Kurama took in the whole thing, slowly turning his head to gather every detail as if he was taking it in on film.

"If you want to actually be able to call this a garden again, I suggest you work on that." He couldn't really reply to that in a way that he came out on top.

"You take care of it then," he challenged, feigning uncaring. "You must know how, watching your mother." Distracted from his intake, Kurama turned to stare at Hiei with a confused look.

"Sorry?"

"The garden at your house." It seemed to take Kurama a few seconds to piece together the statements and Hiei's meaning behind them. He managed fairly quickly.

"That wasn't my mother. I did that." Whatever Hiei had been expecting, it wasn't that. It wasn't a bad surprise though; far from it.

"All of it?", he asked, impressed. The redhead nodded, turning back to surveying the war zone.

"Though it wasn't much of a garden when I started. It was more...malnourished. This is much more..." He seemed to struggle for the word, and eventually went with a more simplistic, fitting one. "Feral." That was a good word to describe it.

"My challenge still stands. If you're so appalled by the state of my garden, then take care of it. It'll give you something to do." Keeping Kurama busy while Hiei tried to come up with a more concrete use for him seemed like a good idea. But this was a fairly concrete job, right? The garden wasn't going to just sit, suspended perfectly in time after Kurama fixed it. It would need constant care. Plus, it was something productive for him to do, instead of just being a decoration, and it would probably make him feel more at ease. From how the garden at his home looked, he'd given it a lot of attention and care. You didn't do that unless you really liked gardening.

Yep. This was a good idea from all angles.

Hiei couldn't help but grin as he watched Kurama mutter to himself about what needed to be done and what he was going to need.

_Sometimes it really is just better to let the universe work things out._

"Come back in when you're done with your battle strategy," Hiei called loud enough to pierce through Kurama's thoughts. The redhead waved a hand in acknowledgment, treading carefully over the near-overgrown dirt path. Hiei headed back inside, feeling lighter. He liked it when things fit together perfectly with minimal work on his end. He headed into the kitchen, sitting down at the counter and turning to more pressing matters.

What to put Kurama in tonight for bed.

_What do I have around the house that I could make him wear?_ Maybe some of his clothes, but they were definitely too small. Ruka might have some; she was a little shorter than Kurama, but roughly the same frame, and due to her bust, her shirts wouldn't be too tight a fit.

_Hm...kind of odd though._ Toguro would definitely have a shirt big enough, but pants that were too big. Though that was creepy on a different scale.

_Not sure I want Toguro's scent all over my bed._ Making a face, Hiei moved down the list. They might have some general, unused clothes around. Quick things to change into if clothes got too bloody or had something else dumped on them and there was no time to shower and get fresh clothes from one's personal collection.

_But is any of it actually sleepwear?_ No, mostly casual clothes. _Hm..._ At that moment, deep, almost pink-red caught his eye and he turned to see his licensed naughty nurse and personal fashioner retrieving a few cookies for herself.

"Ruka," he called. Her boobs swung around, followed by her face. "I'm trying to get clothes for my pet to sleep in. Do you have anything?" She blinked, a cookie half in her mouth, before biting off a mouthful and swallowing.

"I might," she said thoughtfully. "He's the cute redhead, a little taller than me?" Hiei frowned internally.

_Cute?_

"Yeah." Ruka smiled seductively (it was just her default expression).

"I have a nice pair of black silk pajamas that are a little feminine, but they should fit him just fine." That sounded good, though it brought something to Hiei's mind...

"Not complaining, that sounds fine, but...why do you just happen to have a pair of them lying around?"

"Oh, they were for Juri, to replace the pajamas her ex-boyfriend got her, but then she got a new boyfriend and still wanted them." That...made no sense to Hiei. At all.

"...Okay," he said, without really comprehending any of that. Ruka picked up on the unspoken question.

"Well they were sexy pajamas, and without a man to use them on, she didn't see the point in wearing them, so she just wanted some regular ones." That made...a little more sense.

"Okay," he said again, still wondering about this. Were sexy pajamas uncomfortable or something? He decided not to voice it though. He didn't want to show more of an interest in clothes than he had to, much less clothes of girls. It might give Ruka the wrong idea. That idea being that she was allowed to prattle on about clothes.

"I'll go get them for you," she offered, already heading out. She met up with someone in the hall and Hiei could hear their conversation.

"Are you all right? You're limping..."

"It's nothing-" Kurama's voice "-I just stepped on a thorn and it hurts some, but it's not that bad. I already pulled it out. Do you have a band-aid?"

"What were you doing walking around outside barefoot? Never mind, just go sit in the kitchen. I'll go get my first aid kit and disinfect it so you don't get an infection."

"Thank you very much." Hiei perked up; that was a voice he hadn't heard from Kurama before; it was warm, and polite. He could almost see Ruka blushing as she floundered.

"O-oh, not at all! I'll be back as soon as possible!" As she hurried off, Kurama came into the kitchen. Hiei raised an eyebrow at him.

"Quite the charmer, aren't you." He felt rather cheated that Kurama had already gone back to his normal cold air, killing Hiei's chances of seeing the expression that went along with the warm voice.

"If you mean I know how to be polite and courteous, yes." He sat down and Hiei abruptly stood up.

"Let me see your foot." Kurama didn't even have to wonder the reason why.

"It's fine. It wasn't even that big of a thorn."

"Would you classify this as defiant?", he asked calmly. He saw annoyance flicker through Kurama's eyes.

"I would classify it as avoiding the unnecessary."

"It's unnecessary?"

"It's unnecessary for you to be concerned."

"Who said I was concerned about you?" Immediately, Hiei could see the effect of his careless jibe. Kurama flinched, all emotions shutting off behind his eyes as his shoulders seemed to slump the tiniest bit. It took the crime lord by surprise, but he didn't show it. It had actually gotten to the teen? He hadn't thought it was that mean; hadn't he said and done worse already? Why did this hurt so much?

He kept himself from showing any of these thoughts as took the foot reluctantly offered him. The puncture wound was in the middle of his foot, surrounded by a mix of blood and dirt. It actually wasn't that bad, but the blood made it look worse, and the dirt was something to be concerned about. It didn't help that Kurama seemed to have no callouses on his feet at all; they were soft, and the thorn had gone right through with no defenses to slow it.

"Hn." He let it go, leaning back against the counter. "Clean it off while you're waiting for Ruka." Kurama said nothing as he stood and headed over to the sink, using paper towels and some soap to clean away the dirt and blood. A bit of fresh, bright red blood seeped out, but not enough to be concerned. While he was distracted, Hiei stared at him. He didn't know why, but Kurama being that bothered bothered him in turn. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask, and he pressed it to the roof of his mouth to relieve the tingling feeling of wanting to ask something.

Ruka came back in no time with a first aid kit, and a black package under her arm. "Here, let me see." Kurama was much less reluctant to give him his foot to her and even smiled a little.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble." She blushed a little as she poured out the disinfectant onto a pad.

"Not at all. It's my job anyway." Hiei found himself leaning forward a little, eyes fixed on the smile, and he abruptly pulled back.

"What's this?", he asked, pulling the package discarded near him over.

"Oh, those are the pajamas you asked for." Hiei noticed Kurama watching him carefully and held it up.

"For you," he explained. He sat up fully and pulled the plastic wrap off, holding the shirt up by the shoulders and letting it unfold itself. He liked the fabric; it was of good quality, and slid easily between his fingers. It did have a feminine cut, with a sash to tie around the waist. The trim was silver, and it was slightly reflective, giving it a soft sheen. Hiei glanced up at the two redheads watching him. Ruka was blushing again, but smiling, and Kurama looked like he didn't know what to think. He looked...mildly disturbed. Smirking, Hiei turned it towards him and held it out.

"I could make you wear worse," he pointed out. There was a moment of pause before Kurama seemed to give in.

_That's true_, he conceded with his expression.

End Chapter Three.

**A/N**: It's two o'clock here and OH GOD I'M SO HUNGRY AND TIRED FUCK KURAMA WHY DIDN'T YOU EAT THE SANDWICH IT SOUNDED DELICIOUSSSSSSS. Ahem. Anyway, here's another update, written about as quickly as I could get it out. Probably unfortunately for you guys, I cannot guarantee a chapter in the next few days, as I will be in GENCON! Thus, I will be really busy spending disgusting amounts of money, gaming, watching anime, more gaming, more spending, and probably building little buildings out of donated cards again. I will try to get a headstart on the chapter so I can update soon when I get home, but I can't really promise anything until after next Tuesday (after because on Tuesday, the day after we get back, I will be either really really hyper and useless, or I'll be completely wiped and useless). I will keep updating though! Love you all! *mmmwah!*


	4. Chapter 4: Damn It

**A/N:** Sorry, no comment replies today. I only have a few more minutes before I have to go to class and I figured you all would prefer the chapter sooner.

**Chapter Four**

"Are you done yet?" Kurama glared at the door, growing more irritated by the second. He bit his tongue though, refraining from pointing out that he hadn't been in here that long. No doubt he would just get a sarcastic, goading remark back, which would only encourage his irritation to flourish.

"Almost," he responded in his calmest voice. "I'll be out in just a moment." He tied the sash around his waist and stepped back to look himself over in the small mirror that rested over Hiei's sink. He didn't look...bad, per se. He just looked like a _girl_.

Yes, he was well aware growing out his hair had not helped dissuade this image in the slightest (and was even the main cause for his constant mistaken identity), but he liked it grown out, and at least he could compensate by being careful with how he dressed. Now, however, wearing what Hiei had chosen for him (and not even chosen, gotten someone _else_ to choose), his actual gender was not as obvious as he would have liked.

Frowning at his reflection, he pulled his hair back into a ponytail. That made it worse and with a sigh, he futilely brushed his bangs away from his eyes.

_I could cut my hair_, he debated briefly, but as mentioned before, he liked it like this. He liked the feel, and he liked having something to play with absentmindedly when he was bored. And it kept the back of his neck warm in the winter. He dismissed the thought and headed for the door. He was fully prepared for teasing over this. It came in the form of barely contained laughter that started as soon as he took a step out into the bedroom.

"Well I wasn't expecting _this_," Hiei laughed behind his hand. Kurama clenched his jaw and tried to ignore the crime lord, passing him by for the other side of the bed.

"May I go to sleep?", he asked curtly. Just as Kurama had ignored him, Hiei ignored the question.

"Are you sure you were born the right gender? Maybe you're a girl trapped in there. It's never too late for a sex change you know." Kurama fought the urge to throw a pillow at Hiei, or maybe go back and punch him. He grabbed the edge of the blanket a little harder than was necessary, but at least feigned calm in pulling it back.

"I'm going to sleep."

"Or you could be a drag queen. I think subtle would be better for you than flamboyant, but not all of them can have sequins I suppose." Kurama slid into the bed and dropped onto his side, back to Hiei.

"If you want to sleep with me," he told him tiredly, "come to grips with the fact that you might not be entirely straight, because I'm not changing my gender." He wished he could have turned over to see the look on Hiei's face; he could hear him choke and then try to stifle the rest of his sounds. Smiling lightly, he settled in and closed his eyes.

"So does that mean if I ordered you to, you would sleep with me?" His eyes snapped back open. He kept his body from jerking and turned over to look at the criminal.

"Are you ordering me to sleep with you?", he asked. Hiei had kept his own expression calm.

"No," he admitted slowly, as if entertaining saying yes. Kurama turned back over.

"Then I guess it's not an issue." His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he almost thought, childishly, that Hiei could hear it. There was quiet in the room for near a minute before the bed behind Kurama sank and the crime lord crawled in.

"Guess not," he agreed, turning out his light. The room was plunged into darkness, and silence. Kurama's eyes remained wide open, staring out into the black. They hadn't adjusted, so he couldn't see anything. It would take a few minutes before he was able to pick up on the subtle light coming in from the window. As it was, he could have held his hand in front of his face and wouldn't have been able to see it. He was also keenly aware of things his eyes couldn't tell him; distant chirping of bugs, people about the house moving, making the wood creak underneath them, Hiei's forcibly even breathing behind him, and the warmth radiating off his back.

It was so quiet that the distant chirping, moving, creaking, and breathing was magnified. It was a constant drone in his mind that overtook the thoughts he couldn't focus on, and wasn't even able to have as he tried to understand everything. He closed his eyes and tried to wish it away. Without worrying about the black he could hear and feel everything even more. His clothes were soft against his skin and slid easily every time he moved even a little. The sheets weren't scratchy and felt expensive. He was loathe to admit they felt nice. The comforter was thin as far as comforters went; it made it colder than he was used to. He shivered and drew his bare arm under it, trying to wrap it around him more without making the movement obvious. Hiei grunted and shifted a little. The blanket tightened on his end and for a second Kurama was more annoyed than nervous.

Really? Couldn't even give him the damn blanket.

He chalked it up to 'asshole' and just tried to shift down further, covering himself more thoroughly. The bed was big enough that he didn't brush against Hiei, but he could still feel his warmth.

_Maybe he has a fever_... The thought was stray, and also reflexive. Most of his friends could be complete idiots when it came to taking care of themselves. Yusuke and Kuwabara were teenaged boys who thought that because they could kick the crap out of whoever they wanted, passing bugs were incapable of affecting them. It just didn't occur to Jin, whom was a little older than them, that sickness could happen to him (luckily he was usually tended to by Touya, who wasn't bothered by illnesses even when they hit him). Chu, a lot older than them, was a registered alcoholic with an incredible resilience to the permanent damage that came with that, yet still got drunk in a snap and usually needed more than a little assistance when he did. Rinku was mature for his age (younger than them), but he (and Amanuma) were kids. Health was not an issue, and being sick was not an issue. Unless it got you out of school.

All this led up to Kurama being the screaming-match-free doctor of the group (when Genkai had been alive, god help you if she noticed you were sick and not trying to get better). He'd gotten so used to noticing when his friends had various bugs, and taking care of them, that he couldn't help but do the same now. Hiei had more body heat than was normal, which was generally associated to a fever. Already Kurama was thinking about what he should do to bring it down. His hand clamped down on itself, nails driving into his skin a forceful reminder to come back to himself.

This was _not_ his friend. This wasn't someone he should care about. He _didn't_ care. This was a manipulative bastard who had ruined his life in a short amount of time and was trying to control him like he was some kind of pet. No, like he was property. A servant.

Clenching his jaw again, he figuratively shook away the habitual thoughts and tried to focus on sleep. Hiei pulling on the blanket was making it rather uncomfortable and Kurama loosened it on his end to try and relieve it. Hiei pulled the slack towards him, causing the redhead another wave of annoyance.

_Fuck you_, he thought. _Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you._ He gave up on trying to be reasonable about this and kept a tight grip on what blanket he had left. His eyes were beginning to adjust, and now he could see most of his side of the room. A few shiny things glinted in a muted fashion in the dim light.

It didn't matter that it was pretty; it was so foreign to his own room that he felt a pull of homesickness in his stomach. His chest felt hollow and heavy at the same time and he curled up to try and relieve it. The bed didn't smell like home. They used a fairly inexpensive brand of fabric softener that smelled nice, and clean. Hiei didn't use it. It didn't smell anything alike, and he didn't like it. It was cold too. It didn't matter how nice the sheets were, or how comfortable the bed was; it was cold. It was cold, and different, and uncomfortable.

That pain was getting worse. It crept into his throat and he swallowed, trying to uncurl. He couldn't let this consume him. There had to be a way to keep on living. He had food, and shelter, and he knew his moth- _family_ was safe. He could pay Hiei back, somehow, and then he could go home.

This was just a time in his life. He could get through it, and move on.

He still couldn't sleep much at all that night.

It didn't help that halfway through, when he _finally_ felt like dozing off, Hiei abruptly rolled over and slung an arm around his waist, giving another grunt as he did before going back to snoring quietly. Kurama's half-lidded eyes were now at full mast and his entire body was still. The crime lord was spooning him. _Spooning him_. _Crime lord. Spooning. What the hell._

There was a weird feeling that welled up in his chest. A mixture of horror, and disgust.

_There has to be a way out of this._ Suicide seemed like a viable option. Sadly, he had nothing to kill himself with that he could reach.

_Where was that sword he was swinging around earlier?_ Probably on his side of the bed. Fuck.

_Okay...option number two...?_ Which he didn't have. He remembered a story Chu once had of getting drunk and waking up next to someone who was sleeping on his arm and, for a few still drunk and paranoid seconds, he'd entertained the idea of gnawing off his own arm to get away.

_But he's holding onto my waist. I'm not _that_ flexible_. The arm tightened and suddenly _all_ of Hiei was pressed to Kurama's back, a second arm slithering under his body to wrap around him. Kurama's mouth actually fell open in a bit of shock. What the hell?

_Why me?_, he asked internally, horrified. Hiei made some muttering noise and buried his nose in the red locks placed so conveniently in front of his face. A cold shudder ran down Kurama's spine and he almost leapt out of the bed to get away from the 'soft-core' rape. The floor was looking _so_ much better now.

Right. There was option number two.

Glancing back, Kurama tried to crawl towards the edge of the bed. Hiei slid with him, still snoring against his back. He swung his lower half away from the crime lord and over the side, touching his bare feet to the cold hardwood. Then, very carefully, he twisted himself around, almost unscrewing himself from Hiei's arms. The shorter male grunted, frowning a little and trying to hold on, but it was too late. Kurama freed himself and fell back with a bit of a thump, but quiet enough not to wake anyone up. Hiei rolled back over, taking the blanket with him.

The redhead slid a hand back up only to seize a pillow before curling up on the ground. Now it was colder, and even less comfortable. But the thought of lying awake all night with that man wrapped around him honestly made Kurama's skin crawl. He pulled himself into a tight ball and forced his eyes closed. He still didn't sleep.

~**Manamana. Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo.**~

Morning. Morning meant waking up. Waking up meant Hiei's least favorite five to ten minutes of the start of the day. Once he was out of bed, he was fine. It was the getting out process that was a pain.

_Fuck this. Fuck me. Fuck waking up. Fuck work. Fuck Sakyo. Fuck today's work. Fuck_-

_If you want to sleep with me..._

_ What are you thinking about?_

Well, that took care of those five minutes. Hiei stared at his own headboard, having ended up on his stomach during the night. He almost expected Kurama to be staring back at him; his voice sounded real enough.

_Why was _that_ my first thought?_ He couldn't remember if he'd been dreaming of the redhead. He tended not to remember dreams, and that was usually fine with him. One less thing to worry about. Now he really wanted to know though.

_Speaking of which..._ He pushed the dream issue to the back of his mind and sat up, looking around for his property. There were two things missing on his bed; the property he'd sat up to look for, and a pillow.

_The fuck...?_ Crawling over to the side of the bed Kurama had been on, Hiei peered over the edge. The redhead was curled up in a ball on the hard ground, arms wrapped around the stolen pillow. He looked...really pitiful, actually. The floor obviously wasn't comfortable, and it showed on his face. Instead of the relaxed, almost vulnerable look people got when in deep sleep, he looked miserable and tense. He was twitching too, just slight spasms every so often; his arm would tense, or his head would shake a little. It was like watching an abandoned puppy sleeping fitfully; cute, a little disturbing, and a lot pathetic.

Hiei watched him for a few moments before he decided he didn't actually like watching this. "Oi!", he called. Kurama's eyes flashed open and he jerked, sitting up instinctively and blinking blearily at the sudden increase in light. He tried to cover it up, rubbing his eyes quickly.

"Morning already?", he asked calmly.

"What do you mean 'already'?", Hiei snorted. "You look like you've been waiting for it like religious nuts wait for a word from god. What the hell are you doing on the floor? Didn't I say you weren't allowed to sleep there?" The teen tensed and quickly stood, pillow in hand. He wobbled slightly and winced at the pain in his body from the awkward position and terrible sleeping spot. It showed only barely though as he set the pillow back on the bed.

"You snore," he said bluntly. "It was quieter on the floor." Hiei frowned.

"That's bullshit. I know I don't snore that loud. And why didn't you just put a pillow over your head if you thought it was that bad?"

"I preferred the floor," he said simply. "May I get dressed now?" He was half-tempted to say no and make the other walk around like that all day. Or maybe make him go naked. Half tempted though, so he was able to resist the idea.

"Fine. I'm showering though, so get dressed out here. And don't go anywhere."

"I have somewhere to go?", Kurama mused sarcastically. Hiei refrained from commenting on that.

"And you're sleeping in the bed tonight." He watched the other's jaw clench, physically biting back words. It made him wonder the real reason behind the redhead sleeping on the floor. He tried to ignore it for now and crawled off the bed, stretching out so that the sleep in his body would disperse.

_Urgh_, he thought as his back popped, most of the tension disappearing with that. _Fuck. Today feels like it's gonna suck._ He grimaced, treading into his bathroom. He really didn't want to help Sakyo out today. He was much more interested in trying to train his new pet. However, work first, play later. He headed into the bathroom with that reminder running through his head.

_What are you thinking about?_, Kurama's memory purred. Hiei was more than willing to let that one play out for a bit, but he couldn't get the second image out of his head; the one of Kurama curled up on the floor like a beaten dog. That had _not_ been his intent.

He frowned. Honestly, it was Kurama's fault. He should have just slept on the bed. Turning on the hot water in the shower, Hiei tried to ignore it. He would make Kurama sleep in the bed tonight and it would all be fine. He stripped off his clothes, letting the water heat up before stepping into it. He felt more awake than he usually was when he stepped into the shower, so he didn't take as long enjoying the hot water and just washed himself off quickly. He did take the time to think about the day though, and life beyond that.

Dealing with the main problem first, that being his new pet, Kurama was going to run out of clothes soon.

_Hn,_ he thought uncaringly. _I'll just send Ruka to get some clothes for him. She's got good taste, so it's not like she'll put him in something he'll look ugly in._ It was hard to imagine Kurama being ugly without the aid of horrendous scars, and bald. Even imagining him in a ridiculously hideous off yellow sweater (that Hiei had actually seen once) couldn't make him ugly. It made him more cute than anything, especially when it was over-sized and stretched oddly.

_She'll know what to put him in_. So, make her bring Kurama with her today to go get clothes, or do it tomorrow when he could come along?

_Kurama and Ruka together...alone..._ He pulled a face as he turned off the water. Either a, they became best buddies forever (guh) or b, she fell in love with him and they started an affair right under his nose (fuck no).

_Wait, maybe he's gay_. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Hiei opened the door and stuck his head out.

"Oi," he called. Kurama looked up. "Are you gay?" The look that passed over his face made asking completely worth it. His already wide eyes widened even more, but more with horror than surprise, and his jaw fought to clench and sag open at the same time. He looked disturbed, horrified, and utterly bewildered. It was a hilarious combination that he didn't even try to hide as he stared at the crime lord. They kept their eyes locked on each other's for several moments before Kurama opened his mouth slightly, left it there for a second, and then spoke.

"Are you?", he asked surprisingly evenly, despite his face. The question tickled Hiei's mind for just a moment. Gay? He was pretty sure he wasn't. Then again, the only time he'd reacted to someone seriously was Kurama, who was a guy. So maybe he was...? But he liked looking at girls too. He just liked pretty people in general. So bisexual? Did he really want to tell Kurama that? Should he even answer that at all? So what did he say now?

His mind sent him through this rather quickly, then picked up on something else. Didn't Ruka already have someone?

"You know what, I think she already has a boyfriend, so never mind." He ducked back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him, starting to dry off his hair.

_Maybe I'll send Karasu with them, just to be safe_. And it might be nice to come home and be (hopefully pleasantly) surprised by whatever Ruka decided to dress Kurama in. _Okay, change of plan. Tell Ruka to take Kurama out for clothes, send Karasu with them as a babysitter_. It sounded good enough, and with that in his head, he stepped back outside to get some clothes from his closet. Kurama was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, fitting the black watch from his bag over his wrist. He seemed to have collected himself in the time Hiei had ducked back into the bathroom. It was to be noted that he took an unobtrusive step away though, one that Hiei very nearly missed.

"I changed my mind," Hiei informed him, pulling his closet open as he eyed the redhead. His clothes were fairly generic, so he grabbed the first things his hands hit. "You're going out with Ruka to get some new clothes."

"Ruka?", came the calm question. His voice had been calm even when his face wasn't, so this wasn't a surprise at all.

"The woman from last night, who bandaged up your foot. She does most of the house's shopping."

"Sexist implications aside, will I be allowed to choose my own clothes, or am I merely acting as her personal mannequin." Hiei paused, clothes in one hand and body directed back to the bathroom. He had been halted by Kurama's careless statement, and his own brain trying to respond to it.

"What sexist implications?", he demanded.

"Nothing," the other said innocently. Hiei stared at him suspiciously as he turned over the comment in his head. What was sexist about Ruka doing all the shopping?

"No, tell me." He tried to make it into as much of an order as he could. Which was weird, because he was used to his will being carried out regardless of how he phrased it. Actually having to _try_ to make it sound like an order was...weird. It came out a lot more forceful than he had intended. Kurama leveled him with a cool look.

"She's a woman, you're sending us off together alone, and you were worried about us somehow ending up together. Either that's your view on women in general, or this is a bias against one or both of her and I." It took Hiei entirely too long to figure out just what the hell Kurama was talking about.

"Wait, you're going back to when I asked if you were gay?"

"What did you think I was talking about?"

"I thought you meant what I had said about her shopping for..." He paused again, this time catching up to other implications. He...decided against addressing them. He was confused enough about what they were talking about. "Never mind. And I'm not sending you alone, Karasu's going with you."

"Because if we're alone together-", Kurama started, with that tone of voice that made it clear he was looping back to a previous point. Hiei cut him off.

"No, because-" Wait, shit, no, that had been the reason. Damn it. He didn't let that stop him though. "I don't trust you not to run off. Ruka's fairly persuasive when she wants to be, but I doubt it would work on you. Karasu is going along to make sure you behave." He said it fluidly enough that the slight pause after 'because' was hardly even noticeable. If Kurama was impressed by this cover-up or not was hard to tell, because he went back to fiddling with his watch.

"Fine." To be honest, the crime lord was a little put off at the lack of response, but he didn't let it get to him. Actually, it tickled him in a strange way, while at the same time annoying him. This little game that was growing between them was...amusing. He hadn't had a good fight in a while that didn't involve some sort of physical weapon. Withholding emotions, sharp banter, brains over brawn...it was interesting. He'd only had one other fight like this, with Yomi, and that had been distanced because of business. This was _much_ more personal. And potentially more amusing.

"Let's go," he called, taking his gun and fitting it into the waistband of his pants, once more pressed to the small of his back and covered up with a black coat. He'd already dealt with the one strapped to his leg. Kurama finished playing with his watch, eyes instead following the weapon that disappeared into the confines of black cloth. Hiei noticed his eyes and smirked.

"Something the matter?"

"No," Kurama said with a strange calm. "I'm merely debating if I should use one of your guns to shoot you in the head tonight, or if I should take the poetic route and try to decapitate you with your own sword." Hiei halted as their eyes met. He honestly couldn't tell if the redhead was being serious or not. He had said it so casually, as if he were talking about an upcoming test or the weather. It was a little...eerie, actually. Hiei remembered using that same tone, with pretty much the same context when he was younger. He didn't know if he needed to take that seriously or not.

Kurama blinked, still staring at him. Then he frowned a little. "I'm kidding. It's fun to think about, but I'm not so stupid as to actually try it." Hiei snorted, grabbing his sword and keeping it in a firm grip.

"You've got a shitty sense of humor. Let's go already." Kurama rolled his eyes slightly and let Hiei leave first, following along behind him obediently.

_It's fun to think about..._

_Shit!_, the crime lord internally swore. _They just keep stacking up!_ Though this one stuck with him for different reasons: it took a particular kind of person to say that it was 'fun' to think about killing someone. Usually, Hiei could tell if someone was or not. Here...he honestly couldn't say one way or the other.

On the one hand, it was no because this was a middle-class, good grades (he assumed) momma's boy. But then there were the reasons for yes, Kurama could be just like Hiei, if you pushed him hard enough. It was more than his love for his mother. There was something in his eyes, the way he would glare or the coldness they would get; something about them told Hiei that if he pushed too hard, or if he gave Kurama the chance, the boy would show himself to be more than just a good-boy – he could easily turn out to be a predator.

_That's a frightening thought,_ he thought sarcastically. But it was tinged with uncertainty. Now that Kurama had flat out said it, and even put a deadline on it – _tonight_ – he could easily see him in that light.

"Hiei-" It probably wasn't such a great idea to think about it when the stairs he was going down, and the doorway he intended to go through didn't totally line up. Running into the unforgiving wood brought him back rather abruptly and he blinked, taking a step back. Then scowled. Behind him, Kurama quickly covered his mouth and bit his lip to keep from laughing. He could hear the stifled laughs.

_Fucking dammit! _

"Shut up." It took all of Kurama's willpower to resist asking if something was on Hiei's mind, or if that had been on purpose.

**A/N:** Shiiiiiiii- I'm sorry that took so long. I got home from GenCon and I got steamrollered by...everything. School, family troubles, my grandpa passing away, too much stress, schoolwork, other works for school that aren't necessarily schoolwork, and...bleah. Anyway, I'm sorry it's shorter, but I wanted to let you know I hadn't forgotten completely, I've just been so strapped for time and space in my head lately. Hopefully the next update will be sooner, but I don't think I can promise it right now. Anyway, love you all and I hope you're still reading!


	5. Chapter 5: Shopping

Hiei hated it when plans didn't go according to what he wanted. Usually they had to be derailed in a fairly major manner to unleash him into kill-rage mode, but sometimes it could just be something slight.

Like Ruka calling her friends Koto and Juri last night to tell them about Kurama. And both of them showing up this morning to meet him, interrupting his breakfast and creating a wall of impassable estrogen between him and his property.

"Kurama-kun, you have such pretty hair!", Juri squealed, running her fingers through it. "How did you get it like this?" He smiled a little, letting her play with it to her heart's content.

"I take very good care of it."

"How?", Koto asked, enraptured. "I've tried everything and mine has never been that beautiful – even when I grew it out."

"Well, genetics play a factor. My mother has very fine hair and I inherited it from her."

"What do you use in it?", Ruka asked now, pulling a lock of her own hair over her shoulder. "I use one of the best brands on the market, and its not nearly as soft as yours."

_God, kill me now._ Though, that being said, he tried to see around the women to see Kurama's face. He was smiling that gentle smile again.

"I actually use something I found while out shopping. It uses all natural ingredients. It doesn't seem to work for everyone, but I've found it treats my hair better than anything else." All three cooed and Hiei inwardly groaned, laying his head down on the counter. He only lifted it when he heard his name mentioned.

"Hiei-sama brought you here, right?"

"Ah, yes. I'm being used as payment."

"Payment?", Juri echoed. "That's awful! Someone as nice as you?"

_Nice_?

"I'm not really surprised," Ruka admitted, leaning on the counter. He raised an eyebrow, though she was blocked by Koto and didn't see. "Hiei-sama has always liked beautiful things. Of course he would want Kurama-kun."

"He includes people in that?", Kurama asked, sounding curious. All three nodded.

"_Especially_ beautiful people," Koto agreed. "Why do you think he keeps Shishi around?"

"I assumed it was because he was a good fighter."

"Well sure, but it's his face that's his saving grace." Juri was happily buried in Kurama's hair and Hiei felt a swell of jealousy. He wanted to be able to do that, without Kurama tense and angry.

"Ruka," he said loud enough to be heard over their chatter. All four looked up at him. "Take him out today and find him some new clothes. Karasu will go with you." The woman frowned.

"Karasu? But he's so creepy!"

"I know that. Why do you think I hired him?"

"I can go on my own with Kurama-kun. He'll behave. Right Kurama-kun?", she asked sweetly, smiling at him. He smiled in return.

"Of course, Ruka-san."

"We'll come too!", Koto immediately volunteered. "Even if he were planning on running off, we could take him!"

"Really," Hiei deadpanned.

"I'm not going to run off," Kurama assured calmly. His eyes frosted over. "Hiei-sama has already tied my hands in that area." There was a sudden awkward pause where the three girls tried to adjust to his sudden change in tone. They stared at Hiei instead of confronting it, and he in turn looked away to avoid their gazes.

"He's still going with you," he said with finality. "Think of him as a bodyguard."

"Then send Toguro with us!", Koto whined. Juri and Koto weren't actually employed by Hiei, and yet...

_Why do I let them come here?_ "No. He's coming to a meet with me today."

"Then what about Shishi?"

"No."

"Puu?"

"Puu's a go-for. I said Karasu's going, so he's going. Why are we still discussing this?"

"Because Karasu's a rapist," Ruka said simply.

"He is not."

"Well he feels like it sometimes!", she argued. "The way he stares at you, it's like he's going to devour you or something!" It was hard to deny that. He'd gotten the same look when they first met, but he proved to be the stronger will and Karasu had backed off.

"He's still going."

"Then at least send someone else with us!", Koto offered. Juri was still part of the conversation, really, but was distracted by her hands moving on their own to braid the red locks between her fingers. "Like Shigure."

"Still not sure why this is up for discussion."

"Karasu's a rapist," Ruka reminded him. He barely managed to keep from rolling his eyes.

"No, he's not, and we're done talking about this. He'll be going with you as a guard, and he'll be under orders to follow whatever you say."

"But-"

"If you stop complaining I won't put any restrictions on how much you can spend on Kurama. Or yourselves." He glanced over and grinned internally at the looks on their faces. It wasn't that they were so shallow they could be bribed with clothes; it was that all three worked difficult jobs where they were subjected to sexual harassment on a daily basis and they rarely got days where they could go out together and have fun. He was well aware the bill would probably include things like manicures and hair salons, but considering how much income he had, it was a small price to pay for getting someone to agree to spending the day with Karasu.

"Okay fine," Ruka finally agreed. "But he has to listen to whatever we say or I'm using some of the money to buy a tazer."

"Fine, whatever. If he disobeys you, all three of you can tazer him and I'll just send someone to pick up his unconscious body." He moved slightly to see around Koto to get a look at Kurama's face. His face was well masked, but not well enough that Hiei couldn't see the confusion in his eyes about what was going on.

"And help him pick out gardening stuff. He's going to be taking care of the backyard."

"You mean the jungle death trap?" Ruka liked calling things by their proper names. Karasu was a rapist, and the backyard was not in fact a yard, but a jungle death trap.

"Yes," Hiei gave in, "I mean the jungle death trap."

"Well, we're definitely going to need to get him work clothes then," Juri finally added, unbraiding Kurama's hair to braid it again.

"Aww, I wanted to get him nice things," Koto said, pouting.

"You can get him both," Hiei pointed out.

"What's the point of getting him nice things if he's going to be dirty all the time?"

"I don't know, so I can dress him up and have him look nice." That was probably not the best thing to say at the moment and Hiei risked another look over. Kurama's face was more controlled, with his just his eyebrows raised. Ruka, Koto and Juri were just staring at him.

_Damn it._ "Look, just get him stuff he'll look good in."

"Like for parties?", Ruka suddenly asked. Suspicion tickled at the back of Hiei's mind and he tried to think of the right answer quickly.

"Sure," he ventured, figuring it was a 50-50 chance of being right.

"Like Sakyo's party coming up next week?"

_Fuck._ "No."

"Why not?"

"It's not like you go to any other parties," Juri pointed out.

"I go to Yomi's."

"Sakyo's are like Yomi's, just nicer than whatever Yomi did at his party."

"And Yomi's are just like Sakyo's, only nicer than whatever Sakyo did at _his_ party," Koto continued.

"Right!", Juri agreed, smiling brightly. "They're interchangeable, really."

"No. I haven't trained him enough to take him to a party yet."

"Well who else are you going to take? Mukuro?" It physically pained Hiei as he pulled the same disgusted face as Koto and Juri. He thought he heard Kurama giggle a little, but when he looked over, the redhead was smiling only faintly.

"No," he said flatly. "Just because she's my ally doesn't mean she'll ever be my date again."

"Shishi?"

"Don't make me hurt you." Shishi was forbidden from upscale parties, permanently. It was considered extremely rude to flirt with the host's wife, even if the married couple wasn't getting along. It was considered taboo to sleep with her. And it was considered a death sentence to do it _at the party_.

Shishi was lucky he was perma-banned instead of decapitated.

"Shigure?"

"Look, if I'm going to take someone to a party as my date, it's going to be someone beautiful, not someone who looked like he stumbled into a tattoo parlor and fell face first into the piercing guns."

"Love you too boss." Hiei was so close to just putting his head down and calling it a day.

"Morning Shigure," he greeted, mentally head-slapping himself. The man didn't seem really bothered by the comment and just got a cup of coffee. He was nice enough to hand one to Hiei too.

"Shigure, would you mind coming shopping with us?", Ruka asked cutely. Hiei noticed the man's eyes sliding down from her face every so often. Unlike other men, he kept bringing them back up with an effort not to stare.

"Sure."

"No," Hiei countered, glaring at Ruka. "What part about 'Karasu's going with you' is not getting through?"

"Well he can come too."

"I don't mind going boss. I don't have anything else to do today."

_That's not the point!_, he howled inwardly. Outwardly, he just scowled.

"Fine, take him," he gave in, throwing up a hand in defeat, snatching his coffee mug.

"Yay!" Somehow, Ruka moved around the counter without Hiei noticing and throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank you Hiei-sama!" She kissed the top of his head and he grunted, but he didn't move her off. With her out of the way, Shigure suddenly noticed the other redhead.

"Hello. Where'd you come from?"

"Hiei-sama's using him for payment," Koto reported dutifully. "He's the one we're shopping for."

"Gotcha." His eyes lingered longer than Hiei liked and he growled warningly.

"Touch him and your hands are mine." He quickly looked away, taking a sip of his coffee nonchalantly.

"Wasn't thinking a thing boss."

_Yeah, sure you weren't_. He wasn't really worried though. Shigure wasn't as pushy as Shishi. Just as much of a lady killer, but in a more laid back fashion. He believed in letting tail come to him – and it did, amazingly enough. In waves.

Leaning forward again, Hiei risked a glance at Kurama. Despite not having said anything for a while, he looked surprisingly at peace. He didn't seem bothered that Juri was still playing with his hair, and he didn't mind everyone talking for him either. Not even Shigure's heavily pierced face seemed to phase him. He noticed Hiei staring and turned to look at him, tilting his head slightly in a silent question. Hiei almost asked if he was all right, but he bit it back and just shook his head slightly, looking away. He caught Kurama shrugging out of the corner of his eye.

_Did we just have a silent conversation?_ He'd never experienced that before. It was...nice, in a strange way. More than that though, it unsettled him that they were able to communicate without saying anything or moving much.

He finished his coffee quickly, standing. "Shigure, go get Karasu. You can leave whenever you want. Toguro and I will be heading out as soon as he-"

"Morning boss."

_Shows up right behind me like a fucking ghost shit shit shit that scared the fucking daylights out of me fuck fuck fuck what the hell-_ "We're leaving," he said shortly, trying to cover up his immediate reaction of seizing up as someone he hadn't known was there spoke up.

"Right." Toguro seemed to have no idea he had nearly given his boss a heart attack, something that made Hiei's eye twitch. Damn big scary man with _fucking silent footsteps_. "Just so you know, Karasu's been standing out here eavesdropping and is now trying to tell me through improvised sign language to shut up." That was almost enough to make Hiei smirk, but he was too annoyed by his heart trying to leap out of his chest. A second later Karasu appeared smoothly at Toguro's side. Despite being easily dwarfed by the larger man, he still managed to be intimidating in a sinister way.

"I just didn't want to appear in the middle of conversation," he covered smoothly. Of course, Hiei didn't believe him at all.

"Whatever," he dismissed. "You're going shopping with the girls and Shigure."

"I did hear something about that, though I'm unclear as to whom we're shopping for." Hiei didn't like the gleam in his eyes, but he was going to see Kurama sooner or later. He gently moved Koto out of the way, revealing the redhead.

"Kurama, Karasu. Karasu, Kurama." Karasu's eyes glittered, much like those of a child who just had a cake placed in front of them. Hiei took pleasure in moving that cake to a shelf too high to get. "He's mine."

"Of course." Anyone else would have missed the slight pause where Karasu had to not only process that, which wouldn't have caused a pause, but bite back a challenge to that claim. _That_ would have caused a pause, but only a slight one. Like the one that occurred, and the one that ruffled Hiei's fur.

He and Karasu had a very...interesting relationship; Karasu was always on the look out for a sign of weakness, and that put Hiei on constant guard.

"You're going out with him and the girls-"

"And Shigure," Ruka reminded.

"-And Shigure. They're going shopping, you and Shigure are going to take care of them. Also, you're under their orders. I've given them permission to tazer you if you get out of hand." Karasu generally enjoyed pain, but even he didn't consider electric shocks 'sexy'. He winced at the thought of the jolting, disorienting pain. He preferred fire, or knives.

"Understood." He couldn't keep his eyes from lingering on the redhead though. Hiei had certainly found a gem amidst the sludge of the middle class.

"Boss," Toguro reminded. "We should be heading out." Suddenly Hiei was less sure about leaving Kurama to his subordinates. He didn't like handing over his new things until he'd had a certain amount of time to covet them. He hadn't had enough time to covet Kurama – he was trying to soften the other up to the point where he _could_ covet him. But he had little choice; Kurama needed new clothes, and he loathed shopping.

"Right, let's go. Buy whatever you need, want, I don't care, just get him clothes, make sure he eats, and be back here before seven." Kurama opened his mouth to retort that he could feed himself, but thought better of it and let it slide. His last attempt at eating had been under Hiei's watch, and hadn't gone well. Of course the man would think he couldn't eat properly.

_Though there are lots of things to say about that_. He still didn't say anything about it, instead choosing something a little more friendly.

"Have fun being a criminal." Hiei paused, halfway out the door. When he looked back, Kurama merely put on a pleasant smile, looking like he absolutely meant it. There was no good response to that comment. Or that face.

_What are you thinking about?_ The crime lord stared for a few more seconds before quietly turning and leaving. Kurama felt mildly proud of himself, though he got the feeling he would be hearing about this later.

"Wait, how long have you been here?", Koto asked. He stopped smiling deliberately, looking up at her with his head tilted slightly.

"He brought me here yesterday. Why?"

"And you're already able to talk back to him like that?"

"I deal with alpha males a lot."

"Really," Karasu asked, feeling a slight spark of excitement. Prey that was taken to begin with was boring.

"Are we leaving soon?", Shigure asked suddenly. "My piercings get itchy when I'm bored." Not something Karasu wanted to witness.

"Yes," Ruka said quickly. Kurama was suddenly pulled out of his seat and drawn into a protective cell of girls.

"Right! Karasu, you can drive!" The black-haired man wasn't surprised in the slightest. Shigure shrugged as the girls dragged their prize down the hallway to collect his shoes.

"I'll drive on the way back," he offered.

"Suit yourself." Normally he would say he didn't care – because he didn't – but if Shigure drove, it would give him a chance to sit closer to Kurama.

In less than ten minutes all of them were piled in the van like a happy family. Ruka claimed the seat next to Kurama and was leaning against him, quite comfortable where she was.

"Karasu, head into downtown to La Boutique." She toyed with a lock of Kurama's hair, a little jealous that Juri had spent so much time playing with it. "So, Kura-kun, do you have a girlfriend?"

_This is why I hate women_, Karasu grumbled to himself, concentrating on the road.

**~~And then they detoured into magical adventure land. No, actually they just drove there. Hope you don't mind me skipping over that.~~**

Shopping for himself had never really been Kurama's forte. He didn't like spending money on himself, especially when the money was needed for more important things, so he usually didn't. As long as his clothes weren't falling apart, he saw no need to get new ones.

"What's wrong with jeans?", he asked, confused about why Ruka was picking at them with a scowl/pout combination.

"Jeans are fine, but they feel a little rough for you. I mean they look good, but it's a little...messy, I guess."

"Messy?" He looked down at himself, wondering if he hadn't gotten out the dirt stains from working in the garden.

"Especially with a t-shirt."

"It's comfortable."

"But it's not _stylish_. T-shirt and jeans are just what you throw on when you don't care about what you're wearing." Kurama decided not to mention that at the moment, he really _didn't_ care about what he was wearing. It wasn't that he didn't care about his appearance, it was just that fashion was expensive and unnecessary, so he ignored it.

"In this world, appearances mean a lot," Ruka counseled. "So I'm-"

"Ahem."

"_We're_ going to make sure you're taken care of in that area."

"I take it simple clothes are out of the question."

"If we don't spend _at least_ a thousand dollars on clothes today, we're doing something wrong." Kurama choked a bit, trying not to be obvious about staring at her in disbelief.

"A _thousand_?" She ignored this and grabbed his arm, dragging him over to one of the straight-backed employees. He looked down at them over his nose.

"Can I help you?", he drawled, clearly believing they didn't belong here. Kurama inwardly tensed; he hated being thought of as poor, and he was sure that was how he looked now, standing in this store dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. Ruka didn't even blink, reaching into her clutch and pulling out a credit card. It looked like the kind you needed to have a certain amount of money to even _consider_ having.

"We're planning on spending at least a thousand dollars here today on him," she said coolly, handing the card over. "I expect him to be measured _exactly_, for clothes that will not only be fashionable but comfortable, and I expect to be waited on hand and foot." The man's demeanor immediately changed as he took the card. It was like touching the thing sent a spark to his brain and it picked out the right persona for what she was demanding. He bowed deeply.

"Of course," he said graciously. "Anything you wish. And it would be my honor to escort you to one of our more private rooms. It's more suited for valued customers who prefer their privacy and comfort." She nodded curtly, motioning for Shigure and Karasu to come over from the front of the store where they waited by the door.

"You two can hardly guard us standing all the way over there," she chastised as they were brought to the back to one of the rooms. It had a small platform facing three full length-mirrors to see every possible angle. There were comfortable looking couches pushed up against the walls for people to sit and wait on, and a doorway with a curtain that was pushed aside to reveal what looked like a walk-in closet. The floor was red carpet, the curtain matching, and the walls were dark wood.

_This is a store?_ He tried not to look too amazed as he looked around. He had never been anywhere this..._posh_. And this was just a clothing store – he hadn't even been aware clothing stores had rooms like this. The difference between low-middle class and ridiculously rich was staggering. He caught sight of himself in the three mirrors and winced; wide-eyed and staring at everything. He quickly looked away, bringing his face back to a neutral mask. It almost slipped off when he was pulled up onto the platform and his arms brought out so the men that suddenly appeared could take his measurements. He tried not to move unless they needed him to.

"Kura-kun," Koto suddenly called. "Do you want anything to drink?"

_Am I in a clothing store or a restaurant?_ "Just water." Moving only when he was bid to, he looked around for something to focus on so he wouldn't have to think about how uncomfortable it made him to be moved around like a rag doll and measured in ways he'd never thought about. As a hand came up under his hair to press the measuring tape against his neck, he became painfully aware of the tall dark-haired man staring at him. He was just standing there, hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall and _staring_ at him. A mask over his face took away all other social cues for his mind to process and he was left with intense eyes staring into him.

_He's going to eat me_, he deduced. He shivered as the hand at the back of his neck moved up a bit higher, trying to find some magical measuring spot, and cold metal pressed to his skin. _After this, I hope to never grow so my measurements will forever be the same and I never have to get them again. _

That was unrealistic, but he really didn't like strangers touching him. The men finished quickly and, after jotting down the measurements, disappeared with them and left the first man standing at Ruka's arm.

"Is there anything you would like for him in particular? We have a catalog of our outfits if you wish to look through it."

"That would be helpful." Kurama sat down on the edge of the platform, figuring he wasn't needed until there were actual clothes for him to try on.

"Kura-kun, is there anything you want?", Juri asked, taking a martini glass of something purple. He shrugged, propping his head up on his hands.

"Not really." The person with the drinks brought him his water, handing it over with no signs of disdain.

"Are you sure you would not like to sit on one of the sofas?"

"I'm fine, but thank you." He smiled reflexively at the man, his polite rearing telling him to smile at people. The employee nodded to both him and the girls before taking his leave. Ruka was given a large book to peruse, for which Juri and Koto crowded around for. Kurama watched, taking a sip of his water. A sudden presence beside him sent his hair standing on end.

"You don't seem to be enjoying yourself," Karasu noted evenly. Kurama swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable. He kept his voice even though.

"I'm fine."

"Not one for clothes shopping?" He could see Shigure watching them evenly and tried to unwind from his defensive coil. He didn't feel any connection to the pierced man, but he was hoping he would at least step in if Karasu made him obviously uncomfortable.

"It doesn't bother me."

"Really." Not wanting to converse with him, Kurama let the brief conversation drop there. He could still feel Karasu's eyes boring down into his head. It made him uneasy, and he was uneasy to begin with just having the man standing beside him.

"Shigure, why don't you and Karasu stand outside," Ruka suggested suddenly. "See if anyone comes up. It'll be much better to catch them before they're actually in the room."

"Yes ma'am," Shigure replied, looking at Karasu pointedly.

"Have fun Kura-kun," he said in a quiet, almost mocking tone as he moved away, heading outside with Shigure. Ruka waited for them to leave and shut the door before leaning back.

"Next stop, we're getting tazer guns," she declared. Koto and Juri nodded in agreement, Juri leaning forward to look at Kurama.

"Are you all right?"

"I wasn't kidding when I said he was a rapist," Ruka pointed out.

"I got that impression," he admitted. "I'm fine. I can handle myself if I need to."

"We'll get you a tazer gun anyway."

"I don't think Hiei would allow it." At the mention of their boss's name, all girls became immediately interested. They leaned forward as a collective unit.

"_Speaking_ of you and Hiei," Ruka purred, leaning on the arm of the couch, "he didn't seem too happy with Karasu making eyes at you." Kurama wasn't too oblivious not to know what she was thinking, but he couldn't understand how she'd gotten there.

"He's a kid who doesn't want to share his new toy."

"Actually he doesn't like sharing any of his toys ever," Juri corrected, taking another sip of her drink.

"That too."

"It's been a while since he took a person though. He usually doesn't take people as payment unless he wants them to fight for him or run drugs or something. Why did he take you?", Koto asked. Kurama shrugged.

"I stabbed one of his men in the chest, clawed Toguro's hand, and then hated him. You tell me."

"He's in love with you," Ruka decided. Koto and Juri both snorted their drinks and Kurama just stared.

"...I'm sorry?" She took a swallow of her pink martini before beginning to explain.

"Hiei likes beautiful things. You are, to put it lightly, beautiful, and exactly what he likes. He has a thing for redheads by the way. Also, you're feisty. Hiei likes things that are beautiful and dangerous. You stabbed one of his employees – who did you stab by the way?"

"Rando. Oh, and I knocked Hiei into a wall." Ruko snorted a bit of her drink.

"Oh he's so attracted to you."

"...Because I knocked him into a wall?"

"Oh hell yes. I mean normally he'd kill anyone who attacked him, but you're beautiful-"

"Can we stop calling me that?"

"Fine, you're gorgeous, you can definitely handle your own, you're defiant and rebellious, but you're still acting under his control. I'm surprised he hasn't jumped you already." Kurama was aware he was staring at her, but she really seemed insane to him.

"...I got here yesterday."

"And?" Koto shook her head.

"No, he's right Ruka. Remember Hiei's trust thing?" The redhead snorted.

"What's he so worried about?" Kurama coughed inconspicuously, looking away.

"I did sort of threaten to kill him with either his own sword or his gun." Juri snorted her drink again.

"Oh my god, you did what?"

"He was being a controlling jerk." Ruka shook her head, setting her drink aside.

"Fact number one sweetie; Hiei _is_ a controlling jerk, period. There's no 'was being', he just is one. He's got a tolerable side, but you have to let it come out. Also, no threatening him. If there's anything that will make him want to make your life a living hell, it's challenging him. Do it from a more submissive point of view." She stood, coming over and getting him up, moving him in front of the mirrors. "Now, you have a lot of ways you can work with him here. For starters, you're tall and thin." She wrapped her arms around his chest to emphasize her point. "Hm. Maybe a little too thin. But that can be fixed by eating more.

"Anyway he really likes people who are taller than him. I really think it's a fetish he has. He likes being in control of people bigger than him. You're very pretty, and he likes that a lot. So, utilize what he likes. Give him control, and you'll be in control."

"Ruka, that's the worst excuse to put your hands around someone I've ever seen," Koto pointed out with an amused grin. Kurama shrugged.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Rolling her eyes, Ruka stuck her tongue out at Koto and released Kurama.

"It wasn't an excuse, I'm being serious. Now, the clothes should be arriving any minute now-" On cue, the door opened and two men in suits wheeled in a rack full of clothes. Half were shirts and the other half were pants, with a rack of shoes on the bottom. Kurama cringed a little inside.

_Don't freak out, they're paying for it so you don't have to worry. _It still felt like a waste spending so much money on clothes when he could get about five shirts for twenty dollars.

"Are you sure about this?", he asked uncertainly. The girls had descended on the clothes and were already looking through them.

"Absolutely. Hiei said to make you look good, so that's exactly what we're going to do. Don't worry, it's all on his tab so we don't have to worry about it."

"And...you're sure?" Ruka smiled at him.

"How about we make a deal. We don't show you how much anything is costing or talk about cost for the rest of the day, you don't worry about how much we're spending." It sounded like the best he was going to get and he sighed, stepping off the platform.

"All right, deal."

"Wonderful! Go try these on." She pushed a pair of clothes into his hand, herding him into the dressing room. He stumbled in, the curtain being drawn across the opening. He decided against looking too hard at the outfit he'd just been given and stripped out of his clothes, just pulling them on. The pants were black, riding a little low on his hips but still comfortable. The shirt was a black button up with a high collar, silver trim and an embroidered rose design on the left arm.

It fit him well and it was comfortable, but he wasn't used to clothing like this. He couldn't see it on himself well enough in here and stepped out.

"I didn't know clothing stores sold clothes like this."

"Well thank god they do, you look fantastic," Ruka praised, dragging him over to the mirrors now. He looked himself over, not too sure how he felt about this. It looked good on him, he wasn't about to deny that; it clung to him in the right places and gave him a slender figure without making him look like a girl.

"It's still about as good as-"

"If you finish with comparing this to your t-shirt-jeans ensemble I'll slap you." He quickly redirected his thoughts.

"No, you're right it, looks better."

"Excellent. All right, go try on some more and keep these. We'll definitely be taking them." The next hour was spent going back and forth from the changing room to the platform and growing increasingly more tired of clothes. They had quickly decided that while a suit was acceptable, a plain button up shirt and slacks was not. They had found a cache of interestingly designed tunics that were easy to put on and comfortable to wear, he had to admit. He'd just never considered wearing this style of clothes before.

_There are worse things_, he decided, and he tried not to think about how much they cost. He ended up with a sweet alcoholic drink before the hour was up that he was steadily making his way through. He was a little over halfway through when Ruka declared herself satisfied with a stack of clothes beside her.

"Can we get lunch now?"

"Nope. We have two more shops to hit, new shoes to get you, a quick trim, a manicure and pedicure, and then we can go get lunch."

"Two _more_ shops?", he echoed. "Don't we have plenty of clothes here?"

"We have nice clothes. We still need to get you something to sleep in, not to mention more casual wear for when you're just with Hiei, work clothes, probably a bathing suit, like I said shoes – oh, we'll also need to stop by a hardware store so you can stock up on weapons for the backyard." Kurama listened to her, quietly downing the rest of his drink. The deal was still in place, so he didn't complain.

"As you wish."

**Hey look, a line. Haven't made one of these in a wh-HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT'S BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE I UPDATED I AM SO SORRY PEOPLE D8**

It was three hours later that Kurama understood why people could get tired from shopping. He sank into the salon chair gratefully, feeling exhausted and possibly a bit tipsy from three more drinks from the next two clothing stores and the shoe store. One of the women working there offered him a drink and he winced, shaking his head.

"No, thank you. Just water please." She smiled knowingly and nodded, disappearing.

"Ahhhh," Ruka sighed pleasedly, "now _that_ was relaxing."

"It's been forever since we had a real shopping trip," Koto agreed, ordering more drinks for them. Kurama just rubbed his head. On the bright side, the alcohol and exhaustion had kept him from giving any attention to Karasu and his creepiness. One less thing to worry about.

"Kura-kun, are you all right?", Juri asked worriedly. He immediately perked back up and smiled.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little too much to drink combined with too much walking around. I'll be fine after sitting for a bit." As she turned away, he slumped back in his seat a little. It wasn't _terrible_, he was just far more

tired than he thought he would be. That, and the stress from all the changes yesterday seemed to find this the perfect time to creep back up on him.

_Just get through this trip. Then you can get stuff to work on the backyard with, go back and hopefully grab a nap._ He was just committing himself to that plan when a woman sat down on the other side of the table in front of him, taking his hands. The other girls moved forward so their specialists could get to their hands easier. The woman holding Kurama's frowned deeply as she turned his hands over, eyes inspecting his nails. There were lingering bits of dirt under them and the only reason they were so short was that they had been chewed down. She fixed him with a sharp look and he tried to look sheepish. After a few seconds she gave in, sighing.

"Well, I suppose not everyone can make time," she reasoned, pulling out a nail file and getting to work. Beside them, Ruka and the girls talked to each other and the women working on their nails. Kurama partially tuned in, zoning out a bit. He wasn't used to someone doing anything with his nails and fidgeted slightly as the woman cleaned out his nails and filed them down properly.

"Would you like me to paint them?", she offered, checking her handiwork. He jerked out of dozing off.

"Sorry, what?"

"With the card they handed my boss I'm willing to do anything you request. Regarding nails," she added quickly.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm going to start working in a garden soon anyway and I wouldn't want to damage any work you did." She stared at his nails penseively for a bit before just sighing quietly.

"Of course you are. I assume you'll be wearing gloves?"

"Ah...most of the time, yes." Another quiet sigh.

"I'll just put a protective coat on then, shall I?" He smiled sheepishly at her.

"Yes, thank you."

"My pleasure. Same for your toenails?"

"What? Oh, yes, I suppose so." She eyed him a bit hard, silently accusing him already of getting dirt on her work.

"With as much money as you all have, you can't hire someone to take care of the garden for you?" He wisely decided not to mention that he actually _liked_ gardening and came up with an excuse.

"It's a bit...complicated. I just recently moved in with them," he said, indicating Ruka and the girls, "and instead of paying rent I'll be taking care of the garden for them." She seemed to approve of the answer. At the very least she wasn't looking at him so disapprovingly anymore.

"Very well," she grumbled, finishing his nails. They were much shinier than he was used to. He looked over at the girls as the woman stood and moved off to set up the chair for his pedicure. Ruka was getting her nails painted deep red, Juri teal and Koto purple. He looked down at his nails.

No, he didn't want them paointed. Just having a topcoat was weirding him out enough. _I suppose I'll have to get some actual gloves so I don't get them messed up._ He didn't really care that much about his nails, as long as they were clean when they needed to be and short. However, he felt bad messing them up after the woman had gone into the trouble of making them look nice. He preferred to work with his bare hands when possible.

_Though with the state of his 'garden' I'll likely cut up my hands so badly I won't be able to use them at all. _No, gloves were definitely a necessity.

He forced himself to sit still in the pedicure chair, uncomfortable with people touching his feet. At the very least the girls were enjoying themselves. Karasu and Shigure were sitting at one of the waiting tables, playing cards. Karasu narrowed his eyes at his losing hand. Shigure was unnaturally good at cards and didn't seem bothered at all, a stack of somewhat crumpled ones at his side.

"How much longer are we going to be stuck escorting them around?", he asked, hoping to throw the man off his game. Shigure shrugged, rearranging his hand.

"Until seven. That's when Hiei wants them all back. It's only..." He paused to check his watch. "One. We still have six hours before we have to be back." Karasu making a face was largely hidden due to his mask.

"Dante should have put shopping as one of the nine levels of hell. Who can shop for nine hours anyway?" Shigure just leveled him with a look, jerking his thumb towards the three girls.

"Who do you think?"

"Women are useless," Karasu muttered under his breath.

"So, so many things I could say to that that I'm just not going to."

"What, gay? You think I haven't heard that before?"

"No, I think you've heard that plenty. I think Hiei called you that once."

"He called me a 'prancing homicidal terrorist fairy'," he recalled flatly.

"Your parents were rich, right?" Karasu narrowed his eyes.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Probably everything. Royal flush."

"_I hate you_."

"I know. Pay up."

**If I didn't think you all would be bored with reading about six more hours of shopping that I could just sum up I wouldn't sum it up.**

Hiei sat in his living room, cleaning out his nails with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Business had gone well, aside from Sakyo's constant hounding to come to his party, and he had come home early. The girls and Kurama were still out. Not too surprising, since he had given the three free reign to do whatever they wanted for the afternoon.

_I'll be happy if they're back by seven_, he thought calmly, checking his nails. They were neat and clean, scrubbed of any remaining traces of drugs that might have lingered.

The clock read 6:47 and he considered calling the girls to make sure they were all right. At least to see to it that they hadn't tazered Karasu and left him in an alley somewhere.

Toguro appeared in the doorway just as he was reaching for the phone. "They're back." He perked up, hopping off the couch and coming to the front door. Ruka threw it open triumphantly.

"Fear not, we have returned!"

"Welcome back," he greeted. "How was your trip?"

"Ah, so magnificent! You're the best boss ever, Hiei," she cooed, coming to stand behind him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He snorted, catching a lock of her hair and tugging it affectionately. Koto and Juri came in with the same praise, giving him hugs and kisses that he pretended he didn't enjoy. He peeked around them to see Karasu coming in with his arms full of various styled bags. He looked rather disgruntled – from what Hiei could see of his face over the bags and his mask. Shigure came in next with an equal share of bags, Kurama at his side carrying some. The redhead looked a bit dazed and exhausted.

"Take whatever's his up to my room," he ordered the two men. Shigure took the bags from Kurama and thanked him.

"Oi, girls, help us figure out what bag goes where."

"Okay, all of the pink Victoria's Secret ones are ours." Karasu glared.

"No, really? We _never_ would have guessed," he said sarcastically. He dumped them on the floor, shifting the rest of the bags in his arms. "Do whatever with them." Before he could get another step they descended, taking their bags from him, and then giving him more from Shigure. They walked off, bags in hand, in a bit of a huff. Hiei raised an eyebrow.

"So did they get to tazer him like they wanted to?", he asked Shigure.

"No, but they really really wanted to. Kurama has a tazer now, just so you know." He eyed the redhead warily, relaxing a bit when he decided the other was too tired to use it on him.

"Thanks for the heads up. Go put those in my room and then you're free to do whatever you want."

"Yes sir, boss." Kurama watched them go upstairs before looking down at Hiei.

"Am I free to go?", he asked a bit stiffly.

"Not so long as your parents still owe me." Hiei almost hit himself for saying that. There was a mental filter thing that he really needed to get installed and just hadn't gotten around to. Kurama glared at him before turning to the kitchen.

"I'm going to get something to eat," he said coldly. Hiei followed him into the kitchen, taking a seat at the island counter as he watched the other get out the makings of a sandwich.

"How was shopping?", he tried, hoping to smoothe over his mistake.

"Fine."

"Did you get everything you needed? For the garden I mean."

"Yes."

"And clothes?"

"Yes."

"And now you're not talking because you're mad at me."

"Glad you're observant enough to pick up on that."

"Tends to keep me from getting shot."

"Really? That's a shame." Hiei frowned slightly, but brushed it off as he admitted that he probably deserved that. Kurama moved close enough for him to reach out and gently grab his hair, pulling him back. "You're new to this whole 'making people less mad at you' thing, aren't," he said irritably, but he consented to being moved back. Reaching up with both hands Hiei ran them through the red silky strands, untangling any knots and savoring in the feel of it. He moved them up further and rubbed the back of the redhead's neck, moving down to massage his shoulders. The muscles under his hands relaxed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

"I just have different ways of going about it," he said smoothly, stroking Kurama's hair one last time before relinquishing him. Kurama shook himself off slightly before going back to making his food. Hiei continued to watch him, hand going down to finger the glass necklace still in his pocket.

"...There's a...party I've been invited to-" _Forced to attend._ "-next week."

"So I heard this morning. Who are you taking?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you about." Kurama snorted.

"I thought I wasn't 'trained' enough to attend."

"Not to my liking, but you have manners and you can keep control of yourself. So how about this. You attend this party with me, behave and be nice, make everyone jealous so I can gloat instead of daydream about killing all of them, and I'll let you wear this for the whole week and during the party." He pulled out the glass necklace, holding it up delicately. Kurama's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he turned to see what Hiei was talking about. Eyes widening, he lunged for it almost reflexively. Hiei held it back.

"Ah-ah-ah. You have to agree first. Play nice this whole week and for the party and you can wear it. And afterwards when I take it back, I'll make sure to keep it safe and protected. Deal?" Kurama's hand clenched back from reaching for it, straightening up as he tried to contain himself.

"Deal," he agreed, eyes still on the necklace. Hiei regarded him for a moment before handing it out to him. It took visible effort for the redhead not to snatch it back, holding his hand out instead. Hiei dropped it into his waiting palm. He watched Kurama pull it back protectively and marvel at it like it was some priceless, fragile jewel.

"What is it anyway? Where did you get it?"

"My biological father got it for my mother," he said quietly, "in place of an engagement ring. She never liked wearing rings, because her fingers kept changing size because of her sickness, so he got her this instead. She used to tell me the story when I went to bed, since he died when I was little and I didn't remember him all that well." Hiei bit back any remarks that came to mind and just watched how Kurama seemed to cherish it. The other suddenly realized who he was talking to and hastily tied it around his neck. It fit tightly enough to be more like a choker than anything else.

"...It looks good on you," Hiei finally said, trying not to sound awkward or affected by the story. "Same color as your hair." Kurama didn't say anything, instead going back to his food. With his back turned, Hiei rested his head on his hand and enjoyed the idea that Kurama would behave for him for a week.

_I'll have to look through everything the girls got for him tomorrow to find something he can wear._ Fashion bored him, but the idea of having Kurama play dress-up for him was amusing.

**A/N:** I am SO, SO SORRY. I haven't updated this in forever because I had my last semester of high school (and trying not to fail German II online so I could pass) and then choosing college and worrying about that, and then actually going to college and now here I am in the last half of my first semester and finishing this instead of...all the papers I have to do. _ I will try so hard to update this more often, and of course I say that in the middle of NaNoWriMo that I need to get ahead on for next weekend which will be spent swing-dancing in DC and...yeah. I will try though! I have future ideas that I need to get to because they will fill me with a bit of joy at getting to torture Karasu some (er...spoilers?) and I have a more secure ending that's not quite as cop-outy as my last one. Anyway! If anyone is still reading this I love you so much and I am SO SORRY that it has taken me so long to do this.


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